Hot Water
by Science-Fantasy93
Summary: When the guy Katie likes asks out another girl, she decides to make him jealous by having James pretend to be interested in her.  But throw in an overprotective big bro, a jealous girl, sudden feelings, and James and Katie may just end up in hot water...
1. Chapter 1

**_Hi everyone, and welcome to my very first Big Time Rush fic *applause roars out from the corners of my room*! I hope you guys like it!_**

**_Summary: _When the guy Katie likes asks out another girl, she decides to make him jealous by having James pretend to be interested in her. But throw in an overprotective big bro, a jealous girl, & a skeptical bff and James and Katie may just end up in hot water...**

**_Warnings_: Language and some mild sexual references**

**_Ages_: James, Kendall, Carlos, and Logan are around twenty-one, and Katie is seventeen, so there's a four year difference. Also, in this story, the events of "Big Time Crush" happened when Katie was thirteen.**

_**Enjoy the first chapter! :)**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 – Always the Little Sister<strong>

**Katie's POV**

I was so not happy.

I had been waiting for Kyle for a whole ten minutes, and he had yet to show. I mean, how hard is it to just jump in the Palmwood's elevator and come down to the pool? You'd think he was living across the country or something, considering how long he was taking. And you know what was even more annoying? He was the one who asked _me_ to meet _him_! I mean, what was his deal?

I squirmed a bit in my chair and looked around the pool. There was Guitar Dude, strumming away on his guitar by the pool. The Jennifers were at a table on the other side of the pool, sipping smoothies and chatting about whatever it is that they chat about. And then over at one of the other picnic tables James was playing checkers against Logan, who had his on-again/off-again girlfriend, Camille, in his lap.

My older brother, Kendall, and the fourth and final member of the group formerly known as Big Time Rush, Carlos, weren't in sight, nor was Camille's best friend, Jo, but that didn't surprise me in the least. Kendall and Jo had broken up a few days ago, and ever since then, Kendall had been locked in his room, listening to his iPod nonstop (no doubt to a bunch of depressing songs that makes the listener want to slit their wrists), and Jo had been throwing herself into her TV show. Carlos had discovered a restaurant that sold only corn dogs, so he had been there every day for a week, pigging out until he couldn't eat anymore. So he would be home around midnight.

I heaved a heavy sigh and pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time. It was 1:20, and Kyle was supposed to meet me at 'our' table by the pool at 1:00. Where was he?

Well, the only way to find out was to text him. **Where r u?** I typed in and sent it off to him. A moment later my phone vibrated, alerting me that I had a new message. I opened it to find his response: **Sorry, completely blanked on the time. I'll b there in a minute (:**

He better be. I hated being blown off, especially by the guy that I had liked for four years. We had first met when I was thirteen and it was love at first sight, at least for me. But after James crashed our date, he seemed to kind of lose interest in being romantically involved with me. Which means we are the dreaded F word: _Friends_. Ah, the curse. I know it so well. It's followed me around my entire life. Boys never want to be date me, only to be friends. And yeah, I mean, I'm kind of a tomboy and I live in an apartment full of twenty-one year old guys, each of whom has no problem with punching people in the face, but really? Am I really that hideous? _Grrrrrr_…

My legs were beginning to cramp and my butt was beginning to protest, so I stood up and walked over to where James and Logan were sitting, each staring intently at the checkers board. It looked like Logan was kicking James's ass, which didn't surprise me in the least. It's the kind of thing that Logan's good at, him being Mr. Brainiac and all that, and James is…well…James. I'm always shaken when I see James without a mirror and comb in hand. Which means seeing him so focused on something other than his hair was enough to make me trip over my feet.

I caught myself before I slammed into the table and James, Logan, and Camille are looked up to stare at me.

"What?" I asked innocently. "James doesn't have his mirror or comb in sight, it's enough to throw anyone off of their balance."

Logan cocked his head. "That is true," he admitted while Camille smirked and James glared at us.

"I'm not _that_ vain!" he roared

"James, your hair is messed up," Logan told him with a completely straight face.

James gasped and whipped his mirror and comb out from wherever he had been hiding it. A split second later he lowered both to shoot Logan a death glare. "My hair is _perfect_. Like always."

"Oh, but you're not vain at all," I teased him. "I mean, everyone hides a mirror and comb under the table so that they can fix their hair in the middle of a checkers game."

"You make it sound like it's insane or something," he complained.

"Oh, don't worry, I can't tell insanity from sanity, since I've grown up around you guys, so I don't know if you're crazy or not."

"_Katie Knight_ – !" James began in a do-not-piss-me-off voice. I knew it well.

Luckily, at that moment, I saw Kyle walk out from the lobby and I quickly backtracked towards the table. "Can't talk, gotta go, see ya later!"

I reached the table just as Kyle approached it. "Hey Katie, sorry I'm late," he apologized with one of his sweet smiles, and I couldn't help but return the grin.

"No problem, I was just hanging out with the guys."

"Yeah, I heard James shout at you."

"He's over-emotional."

"I caught that."

We sat down in chairs opposite each other and he grinned lopsidedly. I remember being completely in awe at how cute he was when he was thirteen, but four years later he was absolutely drop dead gorgeous. He had really filled-out, and his brown hair flopped into his dark eyes. The only guy who could compete with him when it came to looks was James Diamond, and I was so not bringing him into the picture.

"So, you said you wanted to meet me?" I confirmed, referring to the text that he had sent me earlier that morning.

"Yeah," Kyle said, and leaned forward, his eyes glittering. "So, you know that new girl who's going to be co-starring on my show?"

Uh oh…

"Yeah…" I said slowly. Kyle was the star of one of the hottest TV shows, _Farlington Falls_, and there were always pretty girls guest starring on the show. But last night when we had talked on the phone he hadn't been able to shut up about the new girl, Scarlett, or whatever the hell her name is.

"Well, I texted her this morning and she said she'd really like to get to know me outside of the show, so we're going to dinner and then to a movie – _Kiss and Tell 3_. Isn't that awesome?"

If he defined awesome as feeling as if someone was twisting your insides around and then trying to yank them out of your body, then yes, it was very awesome. If he meant it by the traditional meaning, then no, it absolutely sucked!

But I couldn't tell him _that_! Not when he was so excited to be going out with Scarlett anyway, otherwise I might have finally gotten up the nerve to ask if he would mind replacing her with, oh, say, _me_. Of course, he would probably just laugh and think that I was joking, so I was better off keeping my mouth shut. It was like something from a Taylor Swift song. I wonder if she had been secretly watching my interactions with Kyle…

But I knew I had to pretend for Kyle's sake (and mine), so I squealed, clapped my hands together, and gushed, "That is so fantastic Kyle! Sounds like you're going to be having fun tonight."

He smirked. "Oh, I know. You should see her K, she's gorgeous." As opposed to me. "And," he continued on, "she's Jett Stetson's little sister."

My jaw dropped. "Jett Stetson has a little sister?" Now there was irony for you. Jett was Jo's costar and she had been photographed with him constantly ever since breaking up with my brother. Did the Stetsons just have it in for us Knights or something?

"Yeah…but she's nothing like him," he added quickly, seeing the look of repulsion on my face. "She's actually really nice."

Right, the same way Jett was nice. He was a total sweetheart to Jo, but was a jackass to everyone else. I was betting Scarlett was the same way.

"That's totally awesome!" I managed to get out, sounding like an over-perky cheerleader in some cheesy teen movie. And here I am, without any pom-poms…

"Yeah, isn't it?"

He leaned back in his chair, arms folded behind his head. "Ahhhh…It's good to be me."

And it sucks to be me.

"Anyway, are you ever going to date anyone?" he wanted to know.

"Yeah, probably once I go off to college," I told him. "No one around here is really my type."

Kyle frowned. "Aren't you going to that business college that Arthur Griffin owns? That's right here in LA."

"Well, yeah, but I'll finally meet some new guys," I said in my most chipper voice.

"Oh, that's cool." He flashed me the double thumbs-up sign and another grin. He looked so adorable leaning back in his chair all casually as if he just didn't care. God, I'm pathetic.

His phone suddenly chimed and he pulled it out of his pocket. "Scarlett wants to meet me right now, to run lines. She's nervous about the scene. That is so cute!" That wasn't exactly the word I would have used, but then again, if I had said what I was thinking, I probably would have had to rinse my mouth out with soap and water.

Kyle's fingers flew over his phone's keyboard as he replied. "The scene she wants to go over is the one where she accidentally runs into me and then she kisses me to apologize."

"So she's playing a slut?" I couldn't help but quip.

"Of course not! Her character is just very free-spirited."

"Right, of course, I should've known."

"Anyway, she's coming over here right now, she was in the neighborhood anyway."

How about that. What a coincidence.

"So I should get out of your hair?" I suggested, feeling my heart sink down into my stomach.

He smiled sweetly at me. "If you don't mind Katie. Sorry, it's just, you know…"

"I know, I know, pretty girl and all that," I said, trying to act as if I didn't really care that he was blowing me off for Jett Stetson's little sister. One day I might actually get used to this, and then it won't bother me so much. But right about then I could literally feel my heart breaking. "Don't worry about it, I'll find something else to do, it's not a problem."

I got to my feet, just as a female voice called, "Kyle! There you are!"

I caught sight of a pretty blond girl rushing towards Kyle, a wide, toothy beam stretching across her face. Geh. He wasn't kidding. She really was beautiful, with large blue eyes, tanned skin, and the kind of body that most of the female population in LA would kill for.

"Scarlett! Hey there babe!"

Dang. He never calls _me_ 'babe'.

I backed away, wanting to get away from there as quickly as I could, but I guess my escape didn't go unnoticed, because I heard Scarlett say to Kyle, "Darling, who was that?"

_Darling_? Really? What is this, the 1940s?

"Oh, that's just Katie. She's like my sister."

Ow. That one hurt.

I could feel an ocean of anger pooling in my stomach, and I wanted more than anything to make Kyle jealous, and show him that I wasn't completely undesirable to the male population. But how?

A yell from James's and Logan's table caught my attention. James was sitting in his chair, face in his hands, while Logan did a little happy dance in his seat with Camille still in his lap, clinging to him so that she didn't slide onto the floor. Logan was grinning madly, like an evil scientist about to perfect a ten-foot-tall-car-eating monster. "You have four pieces left James. I can't wait to see how you're going to get out of this."

"I hate you," James moaned pathetically from behind his hands. He sounded just as desperate as I felt, and suddenly I felt terrible for him. He was about to lose checkers to Logan again and I had just lost Kyle to another girl. _Again_.

And just like that, a light bulb seemed to flash on in my head. It was perfect. Even better, it could actually work.

I strolled towards the table, ready to prove myself to everyone.

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><p><strong>James's POV<strong>

I was being beaten ruthlessly by Logan, and nothing, not even my fabulous hair, could save me now. Of course, my fabulous hair generally only works on girls, so it wouldn't have worked on Logan anyway. Well, it might've, if he was gay, but considering the unmistakable fact that Camille was in his lap, he seemed pretty straight to me. Damn.

"I hate you," I groaned, sounding pathetic even to myself.

Logan smirked. "Yeah, I know, but it is so worth it. It's your turn."

I dropped my gaze to my pieces. They were spread out on the board, and within a couple of less-than-smart moves, they would be taken by Logan's pieces. I was so screwed. I needed a miracle, a tornado or something, to suddenly hit the checker board and move our pieces around so that I could get the upper hand.

I glanced up at the sky. No weird-looking clouds, so I guess the tornado-idea was out. Well, in that case,

maybe I could yell "OH MY GOD! Is that Blake Lively?" and then dump the game board over and spring from my seat and run like hell. Yeah, that sounded like my best option.

Okay, so on the count of three.

One…

Two…

"Want some help?"

I tumbled right off the chair in complete shock. I hadn't even heard the girl walk up.

"Damn it Katie! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" I griped as I picked myself up off the ground and plopped back in the chair, crossing my arms and giving her my best angry face.

She wasn't even scared. Not surprising. That girl's the bravest little thing I've ever met. Also the most conniving and manipulative, but we won't get into that.

She stared right back at me, dark eyes like steel brownies, crossing her arms over her chest. "So?"

"So what?"

"Do you want my help or not?"

Logan now looked slightly concerned, probably because Katie could very easily give him a run for his money and he didn't want me accepting her help when he was so close to winning, but I didn't pay any attention to him. I gazed back at Katie. I was sure she could help me beat Logan, but I had no idea why she would take an interest in our game.

"What's in it for you?"

"Let me sit in your lap."

That sent Camille off into peals of laughter, and Logan lost his concerned look and instead started chortling. I guess the look on my face must have been pretty alarmed, otherwise Camille and Logan wouldn't have started laughing like that, but give me a break. The girl is seventeen and I'm twenty-one. That's a full four year difference, and she also happens to be my best friend's baby sister. As you can see, I have two very good reasons to be freaked out by what she had just said. Plus, she's like my little sister, so that just adds to the weirdness.

Katie gave me a long stare. "I'm serious. And no, I don't like you like that! I just want to make Kyle jealous." She nodded her head towards where Kyle was sitting at the table he and Katie usually sit at. Across from him was a stunning blond. It was amazing I hadn't noticed her earlier.

"Wow," I intoned, raising my eyebrows at Logan, who had mirrored the movement and gave a low whistle. Camille promptly slapped him across the face and he quickly assured her that she was the most beautiful girl in the whole of California. Katie just raised an eyebrow at me but didn't say anything.

"That's Scarlett Stetson, Jett Stetson's sister. She's starring on Kyle's show, where she runs into him and kisses him."

Camille frowned. "Isn't that a bit slutty?"

Katie smiled bitterly. "No, apparently she's just free-spirited. But that's the scene they're going to act out."

I glared at Kyle and Scarlett. Katie had had a crush on Kyle for four years, and ever since I kind of happened to mess up their first 'date' he hasn't been interested in her as more of a friend. Which I guess is pretty much my fault, but in my defense they were going to go see this movie that was completely inappropriate for thirteen year olds! It was supposed to be the hottest make out movie of the year! I mean, with that kind of action in it, what was I supposed to do? So yeah, I had followed them around with the girl I had asked out, and had gone so far as to buy four tickets to _Unicorn Princess_, a more _age-appropriate_ movie. Of course, the girl hadn't been too thrilled and had promptly dumped me. Katie and Kyle had backed out of _Kiss and Tell_, and had spent the evening playing video games in the lobby, but I guess the damage was done. Kyle had lost all romantic interest in Katie, but had remained friends with her. She had always hoped that he would one day see her as a potential girlfriend, but that didn't seem likely to happen anytime soon.

But wow…They were going to do a kissing scene right here at the pool? No wonder she wanted to make him jealous. And chances were Kendall wasn't going to be coming out of his room anytime soon. He could get a college degree in moping.

I heaved a huge sigh but nonetheless patted my lap. "Sure Katie, you can sit in my lap. Just help me beat Logan."

She sat down in my lap and I put an arm around her waist to steady her. She leaned forward to study the board, giving me a fantastic view down her shirt, which I refused to admire. She was practically my baby sister; it would just be creepy to try to get a good look down her bra.

Logan smirked, no doubt knowing just what I was thinking, and I glared at him. It wasn't my fault Katie was positioned in such a way that I had to stare in the opposite direction if I didn't want to stare at her cleavage. But something told me that Logan wasn't going to be accepting that explanation anytime soon. He was too busy being amused at my every move.

Katie straightened up and smiled, completely ready with a sinister plan to dominate Logan at checkers. "Okay James, this is what you're gonna do…"

With her directions, I managed to get out of Logan's trap and got in a few good moves. It wasn't long before I had him slumped in defeat.

"King me," I said in triumph as I moved one of my pieces over to Logan's side of the board. He grimaced but slapped one piece on top of the other.

Within a few more minutes I had won the game.

"Thanks Katie," I said with a grin. "I owe you one."

She flashed me a smile. "I'll be holding you to it."

"JAMES!" I nearly fell of the chair again, but Katie's weight held me down.

Kendall came storming out from the lobby and over to where I was sitting. "WHY IS MY BABY SISTER ON YOUR LAP?"

Oh shit.

"Dude," I said as calmly as I could, holding my hands in the air like I was being arrested, "it's not what you think. She was just helping me win the game."

"Oh really," Kendall said coldly. "Is that what she's doing?" He turned his attention onto Katie, who shrugged.

"Well, where else was I supposed to sit? All the other chairs were taken. I was just trying to help James."

"Yeah man, trust me, I'm not making any moves on your sister, she's too young for me."

Kendall ignored me. "Katie, get off of James's lap."

She wordlessly slid off. By this time the entire pool, including Kyle and the blonde, were staring at us, waiting eagerly for whatever was going to happen next.

Kendall grabbed the collar of my t-shirt and yanked me to my feet. "I know you James," he hissed. "And I know that as long as a girl is hot, you'll sleep with her. And that girl is _not_ going to be my baby sister!"

And before I had a chance to assure him that I would never lay a hand on Katie, he pushed me right into the pool.

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><p><strong><em>So how was the first chapter? Sorry if the characters are OOC, I'm still trying to get a feel for them. Anyway, please review, because I'd love to hear everyone's ideas on the first chapter! Plus, I think the review button might get a little lonely if it's ignored for too long...but that's just a theory ;)<em>**


	2. Chapter 2  Sense and UnSensibility

_**Here's Chapter 2 of "Hot Water"!**_

_**Disclaimer (which I forgot last chapter): I don't own Big Time Rush. I'm just a fan of their show and their music.**_

_**Thank you to everyone who has already reviewed or alerted or favorited this story! I'm so happy people like this story! 3**_

_**To my anonymous reviewer: Thank you very much for reviewing!**_

_**musiclover: Thank you for your review as well! I'm so glad you like it! And yep, Kendall definitely went psycho. He's the ultimate protective big brother ;)**_

_**Warnings: Language and mild sexual references**_

_**A/N: In this chapter Katie's sort of a brat, and she's very fickled, but my excuse for writing her this way is that she's confused and she's a hormonal teenage girl :)**_

_**Enjoy the chapter!**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 2 – Sense and Un-sensibility<strong>

**Katie's POV**

James was not happy with me. I followed him back up to 2J, although I had to take the stairs because he got into the elevator and didn't bother to leave it open for me. When I got up to the apartment I found him soaking wet (not surprising since, you know, he had been shoved into a pool by my brother) and still in a complete rage.

He pulled his sopping shirt off and threw it on the kitchen floor before turning to face me.

"So is that what you wanted?" he spat. "For Kendall to make a scene and grab Kyle's attention? Because I'm sure he noticed you sitting in my lap. I mean, who didn't notice?" He laughed bitterly at the end of that sentence.

I leaned calmly against the door. "James, I didn't set you up, I'd never do that. I had no idea Kendall would decide to come out of his room. If I'd known that I never would have approached you."

His face softened as he realized what I was saying. He paused and it gave me time to check out his body. It's not like I've never seen him shirtless, but I'm usually being yammered at by Kendall or Mom about something or other, so I'm usually slightly distracted. But whoa…Washboard abs, well-defined muscles…he was basically a girl's dream guy. Well, he would be anyway if he wasn't so concerned about his appearance.

"It doesn't matter though," he said. "I should never have agreed to that."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not like it was a big deal. People sit on other people's laps all the time."

"But it could have been. It could have gotten out of hand. You are aware that when you leaned forward I could see down your shirt?"

Whoa. He'd been able to? I could feel my face growing hot. "I – sorry, I had no idea."

"I didn't think so. Katie, you're too young for me, and honestly, you're like my little sister."

I sighed impatiently. "James, I already know all this. And I don't have feelings for you!" Okay, that was a lie…a really big one. But I couldn't go around holding up a _I 3 James_ sign, now could I? He can never know.

"Okay, okay," he said. "I'm just making sure."

My phone suddenly vibrated, and I quickly pulled it out. "Sorry, it's a text from Kyle," I told James, and quickly opened it: **Katie, WTF? James Diamond is 4 yrs older than u & he's a playa! What r u even thinking? Was he hitting on u or something? I mean, y were u even in his lap? BTW, the scene went great!**

GRRRRR! That did not work. Or…maybe it did…

"Kyle thinks it's creepy that I was in your lap, and he thinks you were hitting on me, and I think he's jealous," I gushed to James. He did the double thumbs-up sign.

"Good. Does this mean we'll never have to do this again?"

"Actually…"

James plopped down on the couch. "Actually what, Katie?"

"Well, I mean, if he's already this freaked out, then imagine what it would be like if, I don't know, he saw us hanging out together a couple of times."

"You want us to _fake date_? _Are you out of your freaking mind_?"

"Not fake date," I insisted. "Just hang out, maybe look cozy, pretty basic stuff."

"Katie, Kendall threw me into the pool because you were on my lap. If we look anymore 'cozy' he's going to do serious damage to my face. And my face is my lifeline. Nothing can happen to The Face."

See what I mean about him being vane?

I plopped down on the couch beside him. "James, it's not like we're going to be making out in public! Just…I don't know…treat me like you like me. As more than a friend, I mean," I added incase he tried to say that he already treated me like he likes me.

"Katie, your brother is dangerous! And you're my friend! And you're also four years younger than me!"

"So?" I said with a shrug. "This is Hollywood. Women who are in their early twenties and men in their mid thirties are always dating. It's not really a big deal."

"Katie, you're seventeen. You're underage. And I'm legal. I can go into a bar and order as many drinks as I can down. You can't even get into a club."

"I can get into a teen club," I protested. "And it's not like I'm asking you to take me bar-hopping. Just hang out with me a little more."

James groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. "Has it occurred to you what the tabloids are going to say? I'm fair game in any magazine, but you…Katie, you're Kendall Knight's little sister. If someone gets a photograph of us coming out of a restaurant or something together, the entire town will be talking. It could very easily turn into a scandal. They'll say we're sleeping together, and then you'll be classified as a slut. And then what'll Kyle think?"

"That I need to be saved and that he's the one to do it?" I suggested.

James face palmed. "_No_! He'll think that you've gone crazy and he shouldn't be around you anymore. The publicists of that show he's on won't want him to be seen with you, because it'll be bad for his reputation. Katie, if he can't like you for who you, then he's not worth it. You shouldn't have to pretend

to be with a guy just to get his attention."

I sprang to my feet. "Be that as it may I still like him! I might even love him! And now I'll never know because you won't help me!" With that I stomped out of the living room and to my bedroom, making sure to slam the door shut.

I threw myself on my bed. One thing about me is that I have anger issues. I tend to explode with rage, but I usually calm down fairly quickly. And I was already beginning to breathe normally again.

As much as I hated to admit it, what James said had made sense. If Kyle couldn't have feelings for me right now, then who was to say that he would suddenly decide I was the girl of his dreams if James and I did start hanging out together more often? And there was every chance that the tabloids would make me out as a slut. James was infamous for having a new girl on his arm every week, and did I really want to be one of them? Hell no!

I would just have to satisfy myself with admiring Kyle from afar and maybe start looking at guys a little more often. Maybe I could even find someone who liked me for me and didn't see me as a sister. And preferably wore a purity ring. That wasn't one of my requirements, but Kendall would kill anyone who I dated who wasn't wearing one. Hmmm…that might be one of the reasons why he didn't like Kyle…

I realized suddenly that I had yet to text Kyle back, but I had no idea what to say to him. _Hey, yeah, James wasn't hitting on me, I was just sitting in his lap to make you jealous because I like you so much and I wanted to be the one who you were practicing the kissing scene with instead of that bitch. Wanna go out tonight_? Hah, yeah, I was totally going to say that.

I rolled over onto my stomach, burying my face in my pillow. This whole situation just sucked. How is it that every good looking guy around here only thinks of me as a little sister? I mean, both Kyle _and_ James? How did I get that unlucky? I must have done something terrible in a past life to deserve this sort of punishment. I must have been a greedy queen with a whole bunch of lovers who order people's heads to be chopped off when they didn't do what she wanted them to do. And now I was reaping the retribution. Life is so unfair.

The deal with James is that he's one of those guys who you can never have, who'll never look at you twice, but you can't help but fantasize about him.

He's turned into the band's bad boy, and is a complete womanizer. He's the guy who fathers never want their daughters to date and is the guy who every girl runs Google searches for pictures of him shirtless. Not that I've ever done that…

I can't even count how many girlfriends he's had since he turned eighteen. Logan and Camille have been on-again-off-again since they were sixteen, and they've dated other people in-between their on-again phases, but they always end up together in the end. Kendall and Jo dated for five straight years, but they broke up because…well…we're not completely sure what they broke up over. Kendall won't tell anyone. And then there's Carlos, who has dated a few girls, but is usually totally and completely single. And finally we've got James who dates girls for a couple of weeks, sometimes for a month if they're interesting and good at meeting his…ahem…needs…but then he dumps them and moves on to the next pretty face.

He's proud of his status as heartbreaker of the group and is able to work it to his advantage. He's drop-dead gorgeous and he knows it. With a flash of a slow, sexy smile he could get girls to kneel at his feet. I guess he doesn't have much respect for the girls he dates, and considering his reasons for turning down my proposition, I should be glad for it. It just proves that he respects me more than his girlfriends. But that still doesn't help my situation…or the fact that I am a hormone-driven teenage girl who can't help but notice his washboard abs and large, hazel eyes. Okay, okay, focus on Kyle, focus on Kyle…If James wasn't going to help me with the whole Kyle problem…Well…guess I'll just have to figure this out on my own…

I pulled my phone out and stared at Kyle's text. There was no way in hell I was going to tell him that I had been trying to make him jealous, but I guess I should reassure him that nothing was going on between James and me.

I quickly typed out the message: **Haha, wow, big overreaction on your part! Nope, nothing's going on w/James & me, I was just helping him beat Logan at checkers & there was nowhere else 2 sit. Umm…yay for you guys! Listen, when do u have 2 meet her for your date 2nite? Would it be possible 4 me 2 see u before? I have something 2 tell u**.

There. Now I just had to wait for his text back. If he had some free time before his date then I would tell him how I felt about him. If he didn't then I'd keep my feelings to myself.

He was much quicker at texting me back then I had been, and within a minute my phone's screen was lighting up with _1 New Message_. I opened it and read his text: **Oh, that's good, that'd be creepy if he was hitting on you. I mean, u guys r like bro & sis, right? ;) anyway, yep, not a problem, I'm meeting Scarlett at 7, but I have some free time beforehand. Want 2 meet in the lobby in an hour? I promise 2 be on time this time ;P**

So that was it. It was time to tell him. My fingers flew over the keyboard as I texted back: **Cool, see you then =)**

I dropped my phone on my bed and decided that I'd better start getting ready. I wanted to impress him with how drop-dead gorgeous I could be (in my dreams, anyway) and the first step was to get the chlorine stench that hung around the pool out of my hair. It got on everything, and I would much rather be smelling like strawberries than a pool chemical.

I walked out of my room and passed by James who was still sitting on the couch, head in his hands again, just like when we had been down at the pool and he had been getting his ass whipped by Logan. He opened his mouth to say something, but I didn't even look at him. I just kept right on walking.

* * *

><p><strong>James's POV<strong>

That girl is crazy. I already knew that of course, but it was astonishing at how crazy she could be. Did

she really think there wouldn't be any repercussions if we 'hung out'? She wanted me to treat her like I might a potential girlfriend, and we both know how those relationships tend to end. And don't people usually end up falling for each other when they fake date? It's in every cheesy teen romantic comedy, for crying out loud! I couldn't risk Katie falling for me, because I would only break her heart, and I knew that. I can't ruin our friendship. I just can't.

She had just slammed into her bedroom, and I groaned. I didn't blame her for being upset with me. If I was in her shoes I would be pretty pissed off, but the problem was, I wasn't in her situation. And it was really unfair for her to ask me to pretend to have a crush on her, especially after what had just happened down at the pool with Kendall. I still hadn't gotten myself dried off, but I didn't want to get up and leave the room incase she decided to come out of her room to talk. I could stand smelling like the pool for a little longer. Although, since I was still pretty wet, I doubted Mama Knight would be thrilled with me sitting on the couch. Oh well. It was a little late for that now.

I waited for about ten minutes before her door swung open and she marched out, pointedly not looking at me. I tried to say something but she just walked on by and into the bathroom. Okay then. If she wasn't going to talk to me out here in the living room, then I might as well confront her someplace where I could freely drip water.

I strode purposefully towards the bathroom and knocked on the door.

"Go away!" she called angrily from inside the room.

"I'm coming in!" I yelled, and turned the doorknob. Hah! She hadn't locked the door. She must have been so furious with me that she had completely forgotten to. Well, more power to me.

She was halfway through undressing. Her shirt was lying on the floor, and she was unbuttoning her denim shorts. She glared ferociously at me as I closed the door behind me.

"What do you want?" she crossed her arms over her slender body, trying to hide her upper half from my sight. It didn't help much. My attention was still drawn to her half-naked body. How could Kyle _not_ like her? Was he _crazy_? Oh. Wait. I don't like her. No, seriously, I don't. She's like my little sister. I can't be getting turned on by her. That would be wrong. Very wrong. And very disgusting. Okay, focus James. Focus…

"I just want you to talk to me," I pleaded. "Try to see things from my point of view. Imagine what would be going through your mind if you were in my position. I – what are you doing?"

She had come towards me. She placed her hands on my bare chest – crap, I had forgotten to put a shirt back on! – and reached behind me, opening up the door. Uh oh…With one giant push that you wouldn't think a five foot girl would be able to manage, I found myself standing in the hallway outside the bathroom and staring at a closed door. There was a click and I knew she had locked the door this time.

All righty then.

If she wouldn't talk to me in the bathroom, then I was just going to have to ambush her in her bedroom.

I made my way to her room and settled down on her bed, not bothering to flip the light on. I just had to hope she wouldn't drop her towel the second she got into the safety of her room, because it wasn't so safe at the moment.

What was she taking a shower in the middle of the day for anyway? I was the one who had gotten pushed into the Palmwood's pool, not her. As far as I knew, she had showered earlier, in the morning. So why was she taking a second one?

Her phone suddenly vibrated from beside my left leg, lighting up with a new text. She had been texting Kyle earlier…I really shouldn't…I wouldn't…Self-control James…Oh, who the hell am I kidding?

I snatched her phone up, and staring around covertly, I opened the text: **See u then :D**

Okay, pretty normal. But it was the long list of texts in the conversation that caught my eye. Actually, it was one text in particular: **Haha, wow, big overreaction on your part! Nope, nothing's going on w/James & me, I was just helping him beat Logan at checkers & there was nowhere else 2 sit. Umm…yay for you guys! Listen, when do u have 2 meet her for your date 2nite? Would it be possible 4 me 2 see u before? I have something 2 tell u**.

It sounded like she was making plans to tell him how she felt about him. I face palmed with her phone still in my hand. She couldn't tell him! I know what guys like Kyle are like. He would tear her apart. Maybe he wouldn't do it intentionally, but he would break her heart if she just outright told him that she liked him. If he was dating blondes who look like they've got balloons strapped to their chests, then he probably wasn't going to look twice at Katie. Not because she wasn't pretty, but because she didn't have the Beach-Barbie look. She was small with a tiny, athletic frame, with long brown hair and huge brown eyes, not tall and blonde with an inflatable chest. Maybe it had completely escaped her notice, but she was Scarlett's polar opposite. Kyle was probably just going to laugh in her face and stomp on her heart. I couldn't let her do this to herself. I had to do something. But what?

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?"

Uh oh.

I looked up from her phone to see Katie standing in the doorway. She switched the light on and clutched the towel she was using to cover herself even tighter around her petite body.

"Uhhh…"

"IS THAT MY PHONE?"

"Uhhh…"

Wow, with a vocabulary like that it was amazing I hadn't done better on the reading section of the SAT.

Katie swooped down on me and yanked her phone out of my hand.

"HAVE YOU BEEN READING MY TEXTS?"

Something told me I should start praying right about now, because only a miracle was going to get me out of her room alive. Or with all my limbs still attached to my body, anyway.

"Look, Katie," I began, but she cut me off.

"What the hell gives you the right to just barge into my room and read my texts?"

"I only came in here so that I could wait for you where you couldn't run from me," I protested. "I didn't – I mean…you have a text from Kyle."

"Oh." She opened the text, and nodded with satisfaction when she read it. "Good."

"Are you going to tell him that you like him?" I couldn't help but ask.

"That's none of your business," she informed me.

"Yeah, but…I mean…I'm just concerned…"

"James, you refused to help me. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. And in this case it means telling the guy she likes how she feels. And you can't stop me."

"But what if he just laughs at you?" I asked weakly.

She stormed right up to me, still holding the towel up. I'm a foot and an inch taller than her, so she didn't exactly tower over me, even when I was sitting down, but she was still pretty intimidating. I shrank back at her fierce glare.

"He won't," she said determinedly.

"But Katie…"

"He won't," she repeated, like a mantra that she had said in the mirror a thousand times. "Now James, if you would be so kind, please get the fucking hell out of my room!"

I knew defeat when it knocked me on my rear end. So with a deep, depressed sigh, I got to my feet and slouched out of her room. She closed the door behind me, and I found myself deep in thought, not a very common occurrence for me.

I had to stop her from telling Kyle how she felt. But how was I going to do that?

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: So a little bit more dramatic than the first chapter, but hopefully I managed to get some humor in there as well.**_

_**Tomorrow my summer classes at the local community college begin, and I don't know how much time they're going to take up, but I'm hoping to update on a fairly regular basis.**_

_**Anyway, so what are your guys's thoughts on Katie and James? I know they're OOC in this chapter, and they will be in the next chapter as well, but they should start acting more normally by the fourth chapter =) Let me know what you think of Katie and James (and Katie's ultra secret crush on James)! I'm asking this for the review button, because it likes to get exercised regularly ;) Plus I kind of like hearing what you guys have to say about the chapter...But mostly I'm just asking this for the sake of the review button =)**_


	3. Chapter 3 Seriously, I'm FakeDating Her

_**Here's Chapter 3 of "Hot Water"!**_

**_So today my summer college classes began. There was a huge mixup with the buildings for one of my classes. We were originally supposed to meet in one of the buildings, and they decided to switch us to the newest one at the last minute. So the class was waiting outside a locked door for the first ten minutes of class, all the while wondering if this counted as part of our grade. Anyway, on to everything else that's more important than me complaining about the college screwing stuff up =)_**

_**Disclaimer: Oh yeah, of course I own Big Time rush...along with Disneyland. What? I'm committing copyright theft (I think that's what it's called)? Oh all right! I don't own Disneyland...or Big Time Rush.**_

_**Warnings: Language and mild sexual references**_

_**Wow! Eight more reviews! Thank you so much! This is freaking awesome! And of course, I love getting those alert and favorite notices as well, so thank you all so much for those!**_

_**purplerocks13: Thank you so much for reviewing! And wow! That's really high praise that I will do my very best to live up to, so thank you! :)**_

_**A/N: So hopefully there's a little less drama (although no less yelling) in this chapter. It was kind of a hard chapter to begin, but eventually I got it rolling, so I'm hoping it's not too slow or too choppy or anything.**_

_**Enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3 – No, seriously! I'm fake-dating her!<strong>

AAAAAGH! James had some nerve! Imagine sneaking into my room and reading my texts! He was worse than an overprotective, snoopy parent! How dare he? What was his problem? He obviously wasn't going to help me get Kyle, so why did it even matter to him what I did, as long as I finally got what I wanted?

I know, I know. You're all probably thinking right now "James was just trying to look after you." Well, you know what? James should mind his own freaking business! Meddling with mine when he refused to be involved before is just going to get him hurt! And I do mean as in physically injured. Who knows? If he keeps getting himself involved in my personal affairs, some damage might even come to The Face.

I finished drying myself off and tossed the towel onto the floor before pulling out the clothes and underwear that I was going to wear to meet Kyle.

I pulled on a denim skirt, a striped tank top, and wedge sandals. I brushed my hair out until it was full of volume, sleek, and shiny; I slid on some eye shadow, mascara, blush, and eyeliner, and slicked on some lip gloss, before adding earrings and a necklace to the ensemble.

There. If I do say so myself, I looked pretty damn good. Who knows? Kyle might even realize I'm a girl without me even having to do anything.

Hey, anything's possible.

I checked the time on my phone, and saw that I only had five minutes left to get down to the lobby. I rushed out of my room, passing by James who was now coming out of his bedroom, having changed out of the clothes he had been wearing before into jeans and a button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. As much as I hated to admit it, he looked good.

But no, no, couldn't focus on that.

"Katie, you can't – !" he began to protest, but just then the front door swung open and Kendall came storming into the room.

"All right James! Let's have this out here and now!"

And with that, I left the apartment and headed down the hall towards the elevator. I got in and hit the button for the lobby.

Kyle was already sitting in one of the chairs, texting someone. God, he looked so hot with his hair falling into his brown eyes, a t-shirt hugging his broad chest. Wow…And here I was thinking that a short skirt and some makeup could make me appealing to him.

No, no, no Katie, don't think that way! Okay, okay. Whew. I'm good.

I crossed the room over to where Kyle was sitting. He looked up as I approached, and blinked very slowly several times.

"Whoa…Katie…you look…wow…"

And then there was my low cut top. I guess it was working its magic.

I flashed him a charming smile and sat down as neatly and lady-like as I could in the chair next to him.

"Hi Kyle."

"So what'd you want to talk to me about?" he asked as he slipped his phone into his jeans pocket.

I paused. Was this really such a good idea? What if James was right? What if he just laughed? While I had been showering I had told myself a few million times that we were friends, that he had been jealous when he saw me sitting in James's lap, that he would never ever laugh at me.

But what if he did?

_Come on Katie_, I told myself. _It's now or never_.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

I tried to go after Katie but Kendall blocked me. "Come on James, say whatever it is that you have to say!"

"But I don't have anything to say!" I protested. "Kendall, I swear, nothing was going on with me and Katie earlier, and now if you'll get out of my way, I have to go and stop Katie from doing the stupidest thing of her entire life!"

"WHAT? SHE'S GOING TO HAVE SEX?"

I paused once I had dodged around Kendall. "Make that the second most stupid thing she'll ever do in her life."

Before Kendall could ask any more questions I had dashed out of the room and to the elevator. I jabbed at the button about fifty-five times before it finally arrived. Damn. I should have just taken the stairs.

I was sure that by the time I got to the lobby the verdict would have been reached, but I was in luck. As I ran through the lobby, I spotted Katie sitting with Kyle, Kyle looking completely at ease, and Katie twisting her hands together like she did when she was nervous. Oh good. She hadn't told him yet.

"So seriously Katie, what was it you wanted to tell me?" I heard Kyle ask as I drew nearer.

"JAMES DIAMOND! NO RUNNING IN THE LOBBY!" Mr. Bitters shouted at me, stepping right in front of me from out behind his desk.

"Sorry," I apologized as I tried to side-step him. "Look, seriously, I need to get to – "

"YOU KNOW THE RULES!"

What was with people yelling at me today?

"It's just," Katie began, still twisting her hands, "it's kind of embarrassing. I mean…"

"Is it about a boy? Has Katie Knight finally found a guy she likes?" Kyle leaned forward, eyes glittering. He reminded me of a teenage girl. Hmmm…maybe he's gay.

"I'm sorry Mr. Bitters," I apologized quickly. "I promise it won't happen again."

"Um, yeah," Katie said quietly, staring down at the ground. "I – I did."

"_So_?" Kyle prodded her. "Who is he?"

I got around Mr. Bitters, just as Katie began stuttering, "It's – it's – "

"It's me!" I heard myself say as I reached them.

Both Katie's and Kyle's jaws dropped to the ground.

Kyle began blinking rapidly while Katie stared at me as if I had suddenly gone crazy. I didn't blame her. I was kind of wondering the same thing myself.

"You? But – but – you're James Diamond! You're four years older than her, and you're her older brother's best friend!" Kyle protested as he got to his feet.

"Yeah…" I began, but was at a complete lost at what else to say.

"And _you_ told me that nothing was going on between you two!" Kyle cried, pointing accusingly at Katie, who also stood up.

"I – "

"We didn't want to go public," I improvised quickly, sliding my arm around Katie's waist. "But she couldn't stand lying to you, so we agreed that she should tell you. But please don't tell Kendall or, well, anyone."

Kyle glared at me and crossed his arms over his chest. "If you hurt Katie, I will personally ram your face into a paper shredder."

"Uhhh, that sounds fair." Funny. I had always thought _I'd_ be the one saying it to someone else, not the other way around.

Katie put her hand on my arm, making sure to dig her nails into my flesh. "James," she said with a grimace for a smile, "how about we go back up to the apartment? There's something I'd like to talk to you about. See you later Kyle!"

"Uh, yeah, later K," Kyle replied with a confused expression on his face.

Katie dragged me to the elevator, still clutching my arm. She'd be drawing blood soon. She hit the button for the elevator, and a moment later the doors popped open with a DING. "Get in," she said with her teeth clenched together. I slid into the elevator car and she got in behind me, hitting the number 2 for our floor.

"Katie," I began, fiddling with the hem of my shirt, but she held up her hand.

"Don't speak," she ordered. "Just don't."

I could kind of understand why she was so angry with me. I had told her that I wouldn't get involved in her…situation…with Kyle, and then I went and stopped her from telling Kyle how she felt. But I only had the best intentions in mind!

But try telling that to a furious Katie.

After what felt like the longest elevator ride ever, there was a chirpy DING and the doors slid agonizingly, slowly open. I hurried out and Katie followed me, eyes fierce.

When we got to apartment 2J, Katie wordlessly opened the door and we stepped inside. Kendall was nowhere to be seen, but his and Logan's bedroom was closed, which meant that he was probably in there at the moment.

Katie rounded on me. Uh oh…

(*)(*)(*)(*)

I stomped over to James with my hands on my hips. "How is it," I demanded through clenched teeth, "that even though you say you don't want to be involved because something could happen to 'The Face', you still end up getting involved? I had a plan!"

"And he would have laughed at you," James insisted. "Or he would have been completely grossed out. Come on Katie, you've seen the kind of girls he goes for. None of them look like they have any of their natural body parts left, whereas you…" he waved his hand up and down as if to say that I looked a little too natural.

"So they're _too_ plastic and I'm _too_ natural?" I cried.

"No! AAAGH! I didn't mean it like that! I just meant that Kyle seems to go for Pamela Anderson types and you're more the…I don't know…the Selena Gomez/Hilary Duff type."

I paused as I thought about that. I suppose I would rather be compared to Selena Gomez and Hilary Duff than Pamela Anderson (no offense to her or anything). But still…

"They probably never had the guys they like treat them like their sisters!" I retorted.

He hesitated before answering. "Well, we don't actually know them personally, so maybe…"

"JAMES!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, not even bothering to control my anger. "I HAVE LIKED KYLE SINCE I WAS THIRTEEN! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO RUINED OUR FIRST AND ONLY DATE AND ONCE AGAIN, YOU'RE GETTING INVOLVED!"

"YOU ASKED ME TO GET INVOLVED!" he roared back at me, losing his temper. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WANTED ME TO PRETEND TO BE INTERESTED IN YOU – "

I cut him off. "YEAH, BE INTERESTED IN ME, NOT ACTUALLY SAY THAT WE'RE DATING! AND NOW…AND NOW…NOW KYLE WILL THINK I'M UNAVAILABLE, AND THE PAPARAZZI WILL GET AHOLD OF US, AND I'LL BE CALLED A SLUT, AND IF KYLE FINDS OUT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED, HE'S GOING TO HATE ME, AND THEN I'LL HAVE TO MOVE TO SOUTH AMERICAN AND RAISE LLAMAS!"

James took a step back, looking both alarmed and like he was doing his best not to burst out laughing. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, no one's moving to South American and raising llamas…do they even have llamas in South America?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it was Alpacas."

"Maybe." He thought about that for a moment before shaking his head like a dog who's trying to get water out of his ears, and saying, "We'll figure out a way to get out of this mess."

"_How_?" I wailed.

"I – " he stopped. "Were you always this emotional?"

"_How can you ask me if I was always this emotional when my life as I know it has been completely ruined_?"

James reached his fingers up to his temples and began rubbing. "I have a headache," he muttered. "Now I know how Gustavo must feel." He breathed in and out deeply, like in yoga. "Katie, you're not an overemotional mud puddle, you're a strong, independent young woman, so pull yourself together!"

"You would make a fantastic therapist," I informed him sarcastically. "Tough love, right?"

"Katie, we both know this situation isn't exactly ideal, but we need to work together to get out of this."

I nodded in agreement. "So any ideas?"

(*)(*)(*)(*)

I racked my brain, but wasn't getting anywhere, so I pulled my Lucky comb out and began to run it through my glimmering locks. I do my best thinking when I'm combing my hair. Between Lucky and me, we should have enough brain power to come up with a fantastic idea.

Katie stood there with her arms crossed, giving me an impatient look.

"What?" I demanded. "I'm thinking."

"Does your comb hold your brain?" she asked nastily.

Ow. I'm used to getting insulted by Katie, but that one hurt.

I gave her a disapproving look. "I have a feeling I have a very abusive fake-girlfriend," I muttered as I whipped out my mirror to make sure that my hair fell perfectly over my forehead. If only Katie could be charmed by the flash of a white, charming smile and the flip of a head full of glossy hair. But she's completely immune to my charms. It probably has something to do with her being around me practically from the moment she was born. But if she could be won over by the assets that make me the pretty boy of the group, I could somehow use it to my advantage. I just need to figure out how. And not in the way that Kendall seems to think, but in a way that could help get me out of the mess I had managed to get myself into out of the goodness of my heart. Or my unfortunate need to help and protect Katie. Either reason would work.

"So break up with me," she said in a bored voice.

And that gave me an idea. "Hey…" I said slowly, smiling winningly at her. "What if we do break up? Not right now, we're carrying out this plan, but in a week or so, I'll break up with you in front of Kyle, you act completely heartbroken, he'll comfort you, and maybe he'll realize that you're the one he needs."

Katie tilted her head to one side, chewing on her lip. "That's actually not a bad idea," she agreed. "But until it's time to break up, what do we do then?"

"Just act like a couple totally in love in front of Kyle?" I suggested. "We'll act normally in front of everyone else, but when it's just you, Kyle, and I guess me, we'll act so sickeningly in love that he won't be able to help but be jealous."

Katie nodded. "It could work. And this way, we don't have to tell Kyle that I got you to help me make him jealous, and Kendall, Mom, Logan, and Carlos never have to find out, so no one will panic."

"Exactly. It's a perfect plan. Except for one thing…"

"What?" she asked, looking slightly alarmed.

"After we break up, we'll still be friends, right?"

She laughed. "Of course James! What's a fake-breakup between friends anyway?"

"Just what I wanted to hear," I told her as I slid my arm around her waist and smiled charmingly at her. I mean, it was the friendly thing to do, right?

She stepped out from my grip and smirked back. "This should be one interesting fake relationship."

My phone beeped and I pulled it out. I had a new text. I opened it and gulped as I slid my phone back in my jeans pocket.

"And things just got more interesting."

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>AN: I wrote a good portion of this chapter while listening to OneRepublic's song "Everybody Loves Me", because I thought it fitted James's regular mentality. ;) On a side-note, my dad and I just discovered an alternative rock cover for Simon and Garfunkle's song "Mrs. Robinson" (which is a song that we both fell in love with after watching "The Graduate" for a class I took last year). It's by a band called The Lemonheads, so if you like the original but haven't heard this version of it yet, go and check it out :)_**

**_So what'd you guys think of the chapter? What'd you think of James's way of 'saving' Katie? The review button is keeping up a steady, unhealthy diet of pizza and cheeseburgers (it's celebrating the summer ;D) and it needs to be exercised regularly. Plus, I like hearing everyone's input in any case. It makes me feel loved ;) Oh, and if you decide to take the review button out for a walk, I wouldn't be opposed to hearing whether or not you've ever heard of "Mrs Robinson" or "The Graduate" or "Everybody Loves Me". Or, hey, one of my favorite bands, Simple Plan, is dropping their latest album tomorrow, so let me know if you've heard of them while you're at it!_**

**_Okay, sorry about the long tangent that had nothing to do with the chapter or the story and everything to do with my taste in music. I'm just tired and in a really chatty, hyper mood. But now I'm finished. No, really I am. I will be...Okay...slowly moving my fingers away from the keyboard...I'm free! Whoo!_**


	4. Chapter 4 Just a Friendly Movie Brawl

_**And now I would like to present...*drum roll*...CHAPTER FOUR of "Hot Water"! *Audience goes wild***_

_**Disclaimer: Okay. Here's the deal. Would I really be on writing a Jatie story if I owned Big Time Rush? NO! So...I DON'T OWN BIG TIME RUSH! Whew, glad we got that out of the way ;)**_

_**Kitty Howel: Thank you so much for reviewing, even if you had to do it on your mom's phone! I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who was a little weirded out at first by the age difference between those two! Haha yeah, only James could get them into that kind of situation. Well...you're about to find out! :) (:**_

_**purplerocks13: Of course I meant it :) And thank you so much! I'm so sorry to hear about your day, that's horrible! I had to wear a retainer for years, if it helps any. And it's not a problem, I've had some pretty crappy days lately too. Anyway, I was so happy to hear that my story was able to help a little bit! And thank you very much! 3**_

_**Thank you so much to everyone else who reviewed the last chapter! I love getting your reviews so much! I had a really bad day yesterday, and hearing from everyone made me feel a lot better! And thank you to everyone who has placed an alert or favorited this story!**_

_**Warnings: Language, mild violence (someone gets into a fist fight with someone else) and sexual references**_

_**A/N: I would just like to say, first of all, that the innuendos are stronger in this chapter. I don't think they're horrible, but I'd just like to warn everyone - but don't worry, there's nothing graphic about it, and no sex scenes :) The second thing I would like to say is that this chapter is extremely long - for me anyway. 6,791 words to be exact, without all of the stuff I say in the beginning and at the end. And I still didn't get in something that I had originally wanted to put in this chapter!**_

_**But anyway, enjoy the extra long chapter! :)**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4 – Just a Friendly Movie Brawl<strong>

**James's POV**

Katie stared at me fearfully. "How?"

I cringed. "Do you remember that girl I dated a few weeks ago? Courtney?"

Katie nodded. "Yeah. What about her? Oh no! You didn't go and get her pregnant, did you?"

She always expects the worst of me.

"No! Of course not! I always use protection – "

Katie held up her hand, wincing. "Too much information dude."

"Oh, right, sorry. Anyway, no, she's not pregnant. But she does have an acting job, and she's going to move into the Palmwoods for a few weeks."

Katie nodded slowly, beginning to comprehend what I was saying. "And she wants to get back together with you?"

"Uh, yeah, she's hoping I'll consider it."

"What're you going to do?" she asked. "I mean, you can't tell her you have a girlfriend, but if you date someone else Kyle might see and realize that we're faking."

"Or he'll think I'm cheating on you and spread it around and then no girl will ever want to go out with me," I added.

She let out a huffy sigh. "So what do we do?"

"I'll tell her I'll think about it," I improvised. I pulled my phone back out and quickly texted Courtney back.

"Uhhh…Courtney…isn't she the one who was super jealous?" Katie asked, frowning and biting down on her lower lip.

I groaned. "Yeah she was."

"Awesome. Things just keep getting better by the second."

"You don't have to be sarcastic about it," I protested.

The front door opened just then and Carlos and Logan both came in. Carlos was holding on to Logan and had his hand on his stomach, moaning.

"He had a few too many corndogs," Logan explained as he kicked the door closed behind him.

"But it was totally worth it," Carlos piped up, smiling happily despite his apparent massive stomachache.

Logan shook his head. "I'll get you something for your stomach. Come on, Carlitos." He helped Carlos into mine and his room before heading to the bathroom to grab something from the medicine cabinet.

"So when is Courtney arriving?" Katie asked me in a low hiss.

"Tomorrow," I told her and smiled sarcastically. "Isn't that fantastic?"

"Oh yeah, I'm just jumping for joy," she retorted.

We paused as Logan came out of the bathroom with a bottle of some sort of medicine and went into Carlos's and my room.

"Well, I don't really want to get back together with her anyway," I said. "So there's nothing for either of us to worry about."

Katie nodded. "Good."

"So Kyle and Scarlett are going to _Kiss and Tell 3_ tonight?" I confirmed.

"Yep."

"So would you want to go then? We can work on making him jealous." The way I figured it was that the sooner we got the scam on the sooner we would be done with it.

She winkled her nose. "Do we have to make out?"

I froze. That wasn't something I had thought about. "Uhhh…"

Katie shrugged. "We'll figure that out when we get there."

(*)(*)(*)(*)

**Katie's POV**

James and I agreed to catch the 7:45 showing of Kiss and Tell 3, because that was the one that Kyle and Scarlett were most likely going to see. Of course, that meant that I had to change clothes _again_. There was no way I was sitting through a two-hour long movie in a tight skirt.

As I changed, for the first time since it had happened, I was able to focus on James coming to my 'rescue'. While I'm sure I didn't actually need his help, it was a sweet gesture, and it showed how much he cared about me. And what was even crazier than his actions was how I had felt when he had come dashing up to Kyle and me and cried that we were dating. I had felt…_relieved_. Happy almost. I guess because I had been let off the hook. Because I didn't have to admit to Kyle how I felt about him.

You almost had to admire James, at how fast he had come up with the story of us secretly dating when he was 'rescuing' me. Maybe he had been hanging around me too much.

But the problem was that now we actually had to pretend to be dating, instead of him just pretending to be interested in me. I hadn't wanted us to fake date because…well…I could get caught up in it so easily. Hey, it's not my fault that I fell for James Diamond in the first place. He's gorgeous, and can actually be really nice and sweet when he wants to be.

I guess I was about fourteen when I began to see him as more than a brother. It was a slow process, kind of the opposite of the way it was with Kyle – wow, cute guy, BAM! I started hanging out with James a lot more than I used to when I was about thirteen, and I got to know him pretty well, and I just slowly began to develop a crush on him. But he can never know. He only thinks of me as a little sister, and besides, even if he did like me, Kendall would never allow it. I mean, he pushed James into the pool just because I was sitting on his lap! Not that I can blame Kendall, considering how James can get with girls. But he was just one of the many reasons why James and I will never be together.

I guess that's why I'm so focused on Kyle. Because he's the guy that I can actually have. If he would look at me like a girl, I mean. Which, you know, would be pretty nice. But I'd rather be with him then with James anyway. Kyle doesn't go out with girls just so that he can't get in their pants. He actually goes out with girls because he likes them. I think.

Finally I forced all thoughts of the James/Kyle war out of my head and instead chose the outfit I was going to wear for that night: Dark blue rinse skinny jeans, a fitted white graphic t-shirt, a black cropped vest, and black heeled sandals. There. I looked female. I retouched up my makeup, brushed my hair out, and was just slipping in gold hoop earrings when James knocked on my door.

"Kates, you almost ready?" he called through the wood.

"Yeah, I'm done," I answered him, and walked over to open the door.

His jaw dropped when he saw me and his hazel eyes widened.

I struck a pose, leaning on the door frame in as sultry a way as I could manage without actually looking like I was trying to seduce him. "So do I look feminine?"

His response: "Are you wearing a pushup bra?"

I frowned. I guess that was a good answer, although considering who it was coming from, I wasn't sure it was all that flattering.

"No…" I said slowly. "Why?" _And is there a reason you're apparently staring at my chest the way Carlos would stare at a corndog_?

He blinked before smiling innocently at me. "No reason, just my imagination I guess. Anyway, yes, you look stunning. Kyle won't be able to take his eyes off of you when he sees you."

I had to smile back at him, even though the pushup bra comment was still playing through my mind. What had he meant by that? Did the vest make my chest look larger or something? And why would he even notice that in the first place?

Mentally shaking my head to get rid of that thought, I snatched my purse from the coat rack that was just inside my bedroom door, and said simply, "Let's get going."

_Getting going_, however, turned out be a little less simple than what we had planned. _Why_? you may ask. Well, for starters, Kendall decided at that moment that the living room was lonely without his presence and wanted to comfort it.

I had literally just swung my purse over my shoulder and closed my bedroom door when Kendall and Logan's door opened up and Big Bro himself stepped out, shaking his bangs out of his eyes.

He halted when he saw James and I standing, frozen, just outside my own room with my purse over my shoulder.

"And what're you two up to?" he asked, his voice laced with suspicion.

"We're…uh…" James stumbled, apparently stumped at how we were going to get out of this one. Thankfully for him, I'm the _Princess of Scheming, Plans, Lies, and Manipulating Everyone_, otherwise he might've ended up with his face being shoved into the flat screen TV, considering the way Kendall crossed his arms and stared James down.

"He's going to take me to see a movie!" I piped up, trying to sound as perky as was possible for me. Once again, I felt as if I need pom-poms. Or maybe a white poodle named Buttercup. Maybe on the way home James and I could swing by the nearest pet shop…

Kendall's expression immediately darkened. It seemed that no matter what James might have told him earlier when Kendall had stopped him from going after me, he was still wary. "You two are going to see a movie? _In a theater_? _In the dark_? _With seats very close together_? _Which movie_?"

Now if we had told Kendall that we were going to go to see _Kiss and Tell 3_…well, remember the flat screen TV with James's face in it? Yeah…now substitute the flat screen TV for a brick wall. Which is why, before James could even open his mouth, I quickly said, "He's taking me to see _A Fairy Love Story_. It looks so sweet!"

Both James's and Kendall's faces blanched, and for the same reason for once. The idea of going to go see _A_ _Fairy Love Story_ to a twenty-one year old male was roughly the equivalent of admitting that they listen to the Jonas Brothers.

"Uh, James?" Kendall said, clearing his throat as he turned his eyes on the horrified boy standing next to me. "Is there something you want to share?" He sounded more amused than anything else, and color flooded back into James's cheeks. A little too much color, to be quite truthful.

"Oh, it was our deal – she'd help me beat Logan at checkers, and I would take her to see _A Fairy Love Story_," James quickly improvised.

I was both shocked and impressed by his quick thinking. Maybe there was a brain under that perfectly glossy hair after all.

Kendall nodded to show his realization. "Oh, okay. Well…uh…have fun…" the last word came out in a half-choked-on laugh at James's supposed misfortune.

I glanced at the time on my phone. "Sorry Kendall, I'd love to stay and chat, but we need to get to the movie. So see you later!" I grabbed James by the arm and dragged him out of the apartment.

The second the door closed behind us, James turned to me. "I hate lying to Kendall like this. And _A Fairy Love Story_? Really Katie? Really?"

"Well, if I told him the truth he would have done permanent damage to your face."

James groaned. "But what if we told him the real truth? The whole truth?"

I had to think about that one for a moment. It sounded like a pretty good idea. "Why don't we go tell him…only make it sound like it's all hypothetical? That way we can test the waters before diving in."

"Okay," James agreed readily. "But after the movie. First, we really need to get going if we want to get Kyle to notice you." We began walking, and he continued talking. "I'm thinking we should try to catch his attention in the theater lobby, where there's still adequate lighting, otherwise he won't get a good look at you and won't notice how hot you look."

We reached the elevator and James jabbed at the button. We only had to wait a few seconds before the doors opened.

The next problem, however, showed up at the lobby, in the form of none other than Reginald Bitters. The man's name says it all.

"James Diamond!" he bellowed as we stepped into the lobby. "You violated one of the rules of the lobby earlier!"

"Which one did you break now?" I asked wearily. We so did not have time for this.

"He was running in _my_ lobby!" Bitters exclaimed.

"When I was trying to get to you," James muttered to me, and I nodded.

"Look," James said, stepping forward. "I already apologized for that, and I swear it won't happen again. And this time I didn't even knock anyone down…or break anything…"

Bitters hmphed, but relented. "Fine. But don't let it happen again." And he stepped aside. We were home free. Or so we thought, anyway.

The ride in the Big Time Rush mobile was relatively uneventful, and we managed to get our tickets at the theater without any problems. We headed into the theater and with a quick scan of the place, James and I spotted Kyle and Scarlett within seconds.

They were standing off by one of the arcade games, holding hands and facing each other, talking softly.

At once, my stomach churned and I gulped back what might have been nausea. I hadn't thought about what might happen when James and I 'met up by accident' with Kyle and Scarlett.

James touched my elbow. "Come on Katie, there they are."

"Oh…ummm…I don't know…" I muttered, staring at the carpeted, gum-adorned floor.

James sighed and pulled me around and closer to him, before placing his hands on my waist. "Katie?" he prodded, trying to peer down into my eyes while I did my best to look away. "What is it Batie Bear?"

I smiled at the mention of my old nickname. Legend has it that when I was first born James had some trouble pronouncing my name – he kept substituting the K with a B, and eventually the name stuck and _bear_ was added on. But James was the only one who ever called me that, because I would pummel anyone else, even Kendall, who used that name with me. It was a purely James-me-thing, and I refused to let anyone break in.

"I just…I don't know if I can face him," I whispered, still looking down at the ground. "I mean, what if he doesn't even notice that I look different than what I normally do? What if he's still upset because he thinks I lied to him?"

James snorted. "Katie,_ I_ noticed how different you look, and you're practically my little sister."

"No I'm not," I argued. "If I was, then you would have never agreed to fake date me."

James's brow creased, but before he could come up with a comeback, Kyle called over to us.

"Katie, James! Wow! I didn't expect to see you guys here!"

_Operation: Get Kyle to Believe That James and I are Dating and Therefore Become Insanely_ Jealous was immediately put into effect.

James and I both faced him, James keeping one arm around my waist, and I slipped my arm around him. We plastered smiles on our faces as the picture-perfect couple approached us.

As much as I hated to admit it, Scarlett looked much better with Kyle then I would, but only because she looked like a Barbie Doll and Kyle could have been the model for a Ken Doll advertisement. A natural Ken Doll, I mean, not completely plastic and fake. I'm sure if I spent a few thousand dollars on my chest, my nose, my lips, and my butt, I could probably look like a smaller, brunette version of Scarlett. Of course, if I wanted to go the extra mile, I could also dye my hair blonde. Then I could look like a Beach Barbie too! Wouldn't that just be so much fun?

"Oh, well, you know, first date and all that," I quickly said. "We thought we'd keep it simple but romantic."

"Yeah," James added. "And seeing _Kiss and Tell 3_ seemed like the perfect first date."

Wow. I could have sworn that Kyle's face just went white.

"You're – you're going to go see _Kiss and Tell 3_?" he asked, suddenly sounding a bit worried.

"Yeah, it's supposed to be super romantic," I said cheerfully. "Hey, aren't you going to introduce us to your date?"

"Oh, um, yeah," Kyle mumbled. "Uh, Scarlett, this is Katie and James. Katie and James, this is Scarlett."

Scarlett flashed us a blindingly white smile. "It's so nice to meet you two. Say, James, you wouldn't happen to be in that group, Big Time Rush, now would you?"

James smiled at her. "As a matter of fact, I would."

Scarlett clapped her hands together like a three-year-old who just figured out where the candy was hidden. "Oh my gosh! I love your music! I'm, like, your biggest fan, seriously! And _you're_ my favorite," she added, lowering her voice suggestively.

James widened his grin. "Thanks Scarlett."

Geh. What an airhead. And Kyle actually _likes_ her? Is he _crazy_?

Kyle shuffled his feet and smiled at Scarlett. "So we were about to head into the theater. We should all sit together."

James glanced at me and I nodded with just the hint of a satisfied smile. Perfect.

"Sure," I agreed. "Sounds good."

"Oh, I don't know," Scarlett said in a simpering voice. "I mean, it's three times more romantic then the first _Kiss and Tell_ movie, and twice as romantic as _Kiss and Tell 2_. Should anyone really be sitting with anyone else besides their significant others?"

As much as I hated to admit it, she kind of had a point…

"Katie's not really into PDA," James quickly said. "Dark closets are more of her type…OW!" he finished with a yelp when he felt my foot stomp down on him.

I flashed him a mock-apologetic smile. "Oh, sorry James. Damn heels anyway."

"No problem babe," James said with a smirk in my direction that let me know I was going to pay for that one.

"Oh, you two are so cute together!" Scarlett squealed out, and Kyle grinned at her.

"Come on Scar, let's go grab seats." He took her hand and led her off in the direction of the screening rooms.

"Isn't she lovely?" I said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, since she's our _number one fan_!" James replied in a falsetto and I snorted.

"She probably doesn't even know what our first music video was," James continued on. "Anyway…we better hurry up if we're going to catch the movie. Come on, I'll buy you a small popcorn with extra butter and salt. And then…lemme guess…cherry coke?"

I grinned. "You know me so well."

James led me over to the concession counter and ordered our food. We were promptly handed bags of popcorn that looked as if they had been jumbo-sized.

"You know," I said to James as I took my popcorn from him and staggered a bit under the weight of air popped corn, "I think the person who designs the sizes of the snacks here got small mixed up with gigantic."

"Let me know if you want me to finish your food for you," he said.

I hugged my popcorn to my chest. "Absolutely not! It's _my_ food! _You_ eat _yours_!"

We headed in the direction of the screen room we knew _Kiss and Tell 3_ was going to be shown in. On the way, I jabbed James in the side with my elbow. "What was with that comment about me preferring dark closets?"

James turned his head to look at me. "It just seemed more your style. I mean, as opposed to making out in a dark, crowded theater right next to the guy you're madly in love with."

"Okay, first off, I am _not_ madly in love with him! And second – " I was cut off as we walked into the dark room.

I blinked, trying to adjust to the sudden dimness of the room.

"There's Kyle and the Beach Barbie!" James pointed a few rows up.

I snickered at his name for Scarlett. Somehow, it seemed appropriate.

We stumbled up the steps and over to where Kyle and Scarlett were sitting. His arm was already around her shoulder sand her head was on his shoulders.

It was sickening.

I plopped down next to Kyle and James sat next to me. We arranged our sodas and popcorn bags so that we weren't completely squished in our seats, and within seconds James had slipped his arm around me and I had laid my head on his shoulder.

Kyle glanced sideways at us, his usual self-assured smirk completely gone. I smiled into James's shoulder. Good. Things were going just as they were supposed to.

I felt James press his lips against my hair, and my eyes closed involuntarily. Okay…maybe that was taking things a little too far…

"No freaking way," James muttered.

I sat up straight and looked over in the direction that James had fixed his eyes. My jaw dropped straight open as I saw who had just come in: Jo and Jett.

"Uhhh…Scarlett?" I reached around Kyle to prod her.

She sat up to glare at me. "What?"

"Your brother's here."

She whipped around wildly and clapped her French manicured nails over her mouth when she saw that Jett was indeed making his way down the aisle directly in front of us.

"Oh! Oh! Kyle, we've got to get out of here! Jett will freak if he finds out I'm at the most romantic movie of the year with a date! Come on!" and she leapt to her feet, pulling Kyle up with her. He glanced at us, a look of shock on his face, before following her as she clambered over the back of the seats to the aisle behind us and towards the outer aisle as far away from Jett and Jo as was possible.

James and I grinned at each other.

"Well, he seemed to notice you," James whispered, "and he and Scarlett won't be making out during this movie now, so…mission accomplished."

"Good," I said. "Wanna get going then?"

"Hell no! We paid for these tickets, and in this economy, there's no way we're going to throw away money on a movie we're not even going to watch."

He had a point, but I really didn't want to be stuck in a theater full of people kissing and cuddling and who knows what else? The very idea was nauseating.

Jett and Jo sat down in the seats directly in front of us, and James smirked. "And the entertainment value just went up."

Before I could quite comprehend what he meant by that, he grabbed a handful of popcorn from his bag and tossed it in front of him. It landed in Jett's short, neatly combed hair. Jett yelped and began grabbing at his hair like he thought a rat had just spit in it.

He and Jo both turned around and James and I waved sweetly at them.

"What are you two doing _here_, at _this_ movie?" Jo hissed at us, her soft brown eyes widening.

"Funny, Josephine Taylor, I could ask you the same thing," I retorted calmly.

"I – we're – one of the actors in this movie is going to be on the _New Town High_, and we thought we should check out his work," Jo told us, shifting in her chair uncomfortably.

"Oh, yeah, that's our excuse too," James said sarcastically. "One of guys who plays the theme song is going to be guest starring on our new album."

"Really?" Jett asked. "Which one?"

James, Jo, and I all face palmed. Only Jett Stetson would be completely obliviously to heavy sarcasm.

"Tell you what," James said, leaning forward towards Jo. "We won't tell Kendall that you were here with Jett if you don't tell him that I'm here with Katie."

Jo cocked an eyebrow. "Kendall and I are over, so why should it matter if he finds out I was out with another boy?" As she said it, she flinched with pain. She wasn't completely over him, that much was obvious. "And since when are you two dating anyway?"

"Because he might break Jett's neck," James replied easily. "And we're not dating. We're here platonically."

"Right," Jo said cynically. "Because only _just friends_ go to see the hottest make out movie of the year."

I shrugged. "We did."

"Fine, whatever," Jo relented. "We won't bother you if you don't bother us."

"Fine with me," James agreed, and leaned back in his seat as the opening credits rolled across the screen.

The movie opened with a shot of two strangers bumping into each other while strolling down a Parisian street. Very sweet. _Gag_.

And the sweetness just continued on. And on. And on. Until I felt as if I had overdosed on sugar, despite all the butter and salt that I had crammed into my system.

But the third hurdle leapt out at us during the two main characters' first kiss. Jett twisted in his seat to face James and me.

"So James, tell me, how is Katie at kissing? I'm guessing she's aggressive, with a bit of a masochistic edge. You know, like bondage? Is she that way in bed?"

James's fist connected with Jett's face.

"If you broke my nose – !" before Jett could finish his threat, James had jumped over the row of seats in front of us and shoved Jett out of his chair in the process. Both boys landed hard on the cement floor, James on top of Jett. Jo immediately leapt to her feet and began trying to pull both boys apart, but she couldn't get near enough to them – too many flailing limbs – to do any damage to the fight.

I hopped over Jett's seat and tried to wedge the two boys apart, but couldn't get in-between them any more than Jo could.

"Maybe if we dump one of the sodas over them they'll be so shocked that they'll stop fighting," I suggested to Jo, but she shook her head.

"Nope, Jett will just go ballistic because we ruined one of his shirts and he'll get his second wind."

So that idea was out.

Before we could form another plan a team of security guards stormed into the movie theater. If the other members of the audience hadn't realized that two boys were in the middle of a fight, they figured it out when the guards began yelling, "Okay, okay! Break it up you two! Break it up!" and they managed to pull them apart.

Jett yanked his shirt straight. "Guards, arrest this…miscreant. He attacked me for no reason at all."

Jo snorted. "Uh, Jett, you insulted Katie. What did you expect him to do? Buy you roses?"

"Yeah, see!" James insisted to the huge, beefy guard who was holding him by the back of his shirt. "I was provoked!"

The guard eyed him, and then released him. "All right," he agreed. "But the four of you need to leave –you're a major distraction to the rest of the audience."

"Oh, but they didn't notice the five huge security guards that came bursting in halfway through the movie," I replied.

"Okay smart ass, you and your boyfriend get to go first."

"He's not my boyfriend!" I protested, but suddenly both James and I were picked right up off the floor by the security guards and literally thrown out into the lobby.

Jett rounded on James. "Apologize!"

"For _what_?" James yelled. "You're the one who insulted Katie! If anyone here is going to apologize, it should be _you_ to _her_!"

"Fine," Jett mumbled, and turned to me. "I'm sorry Katie…that Diamond doesn't appreciate your sexual assets." He winked at me and James glared ferociously at Jett.

"I – I – I…Of course I – I mean, not that I – WHAT?"

"Can you imagine how much fun sex with her would be? I mean, you know, considering what she's rumored to be into – OOF!"

James had launched himself once more at Jett, and they landed on the floor…again. From the sounds of it, Jett had gotten the wind knocked out of him.

"SHE'S NOT INTO THAT KIND OF STUFF!" James roared. "AND WHERE DID YOU EVEN HEAR ANY OF THAT?"

"Uh, James?" Jo piped up. "Jett can't really answer you if you're trying to choke him."

"Oh, right." James released Jett's throat, and settled instead for pinning his arms above his head.

"Don't ever do that again! I would lose all my good looks if I was suffocated!"

"Not to mention your life," I muttered under my breath.

James kneed Jett in the stomach. "WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT ABOUT KATIE?"

"Just…around…"

James kneed Jett even harder. "WHERE?"

"I don't know, okay! Somewhere at the Palmwoods! I don't know! Someone must have told me!"

James grumbled while my stomach twisted. What were people saying about me?

"When did you hear this?" I demanded.

"A few days ago!"

I let out a heavy sigh. That wasn't much help. And neither was Jett.

"James," I said, "let him up. He's worthless when it comes to information. Now if we wanted a self-absorbed Abercrombie model, he would be perfect. But it's pointless questioning the guy who's entire head has been inflated by hair spray, mouth spray, body spray, and every other kind of spray."

James turned a wounded face towards me. "Hey," he said, sounding genuinely hurt. "I use every kind of spray."

"Yeah, but it's not seeping out of your ears," I said, patting him on the shoulder. "Come on, let him up, he's not going to be any help, and do you really want to get kicked out of the theater for the rest of your life?"

"No, I guess not," James grumbled, and he got up off of Jett. Jett stood up and brushed himself off.

"Now, remember," Jett said to me, "I'm not opposed to having sex with a seventeen-year-old, so if Cuda-boy here can't take it, just give me a call, okay? We could have a lot of fun."

And that's about the time that James threw him right over the concession counter and into the popcorn machine. He clambered over the counter to continue beating the crap out of him. Within minutes, the popcorn popper had exploded, the soda machine had spilled out every drop of soda that it had had (that was the one time Jett got one good punch in), and the different types of candy were now floating around in the mess (that was when James and Jett were rolling around on the floor and managed to roll right into the counter). Different witnesses insisted that James had thrown the first punch, although a couple could confirm that it sounded like Jett was making lewd comments to me.

In any case, we were all thrown quite violently right out onto the street, and told to "Never come back! Ever!"

"I'm going to go see a doctor," Jett groused. "Jo, drive me."

"Sorry about him," Jo whispered to us as she walked Jett towards his car.

James and I glanced at each other.

"You should really see a doctor too," I told him. "You look terrible."

And he really did. He had a black eye (courtesy of Jett's one good punch) bruises spanning over his cheekbones and neck, and his right fist was black, purple, blue, and a very bloody red.

"Oh no, I'm not going to go see Doctor Hollywood," James corrected. "He'd probably give me some sort of medication to not feel pain every time I hit something. As much as that would help…Katie, could you just take me home? All I really need is an icepack."

"Yeah, about twenty of them," I retorted, but held out my hand for the car keys nonetheless. James dropped them delicately in my palm and we walked back to the Big Time Rush mobile, James hobbling a bit and winced every few steps.

I unlocked the doors and opened the passenger side door so that James could slide gingerly into the front seat. I slammed it shut behind him and walked around so that I could get in on the driver's side. I sat down in the seat and adjusted it so that I could reach the pedals and see over the dashboard. I adjusted the mirrors and slipped the key into the ignition and turned. After the events of the evening, I half-expected it to just die on me, but the engine turned over and purred smoothly, like a cat who's chowing down on tuna fish.

After readjusting the mirrors, I pushed down the parking brake and slammed the gear into reverse so that I could back out of the parking spot.

I managed to maneuver the car onto the road, although because I usually drive Mom's car (she finally broke down and bought one) the first few minutes were pretty choppy. Once I managed to adapt to the car, the ride became quite a bit smoother. At least, James stopped flinching at every abrupt turn or jerk.

"Where else did he get you?" I asked, my concern rising. I hadn't thought that Jett had managed to do much damage, but apparently I was wrong, considering how much pain James seemed to be in.

"Just a couple of other places," James said, leaning his head against the window. "I'm just sore from tackling him after every stupid and insulting thing he said."

"Yeah, about that," I began as I checked my mirrors to move over into the left lane. "You didn't have to keep beating him up every time he said something offensive. He's a jack ass. We know this. We've lived with it for over four years."

"It's just…what he was saying to you," James replied, avoiding my eyes. "He had no right. It was all lies, but that last comment…that was beyond inappropriate."

I nodded to show my understanding. I knew James thought of me like a little sister, and therefore he would defend my honor like he would a little sister. But still. As much as I hated to admit it when I was supposed to have an unbelievably huge crush on Kyle, it was kind of sexy, the way he had defended me. But there was no way I could say that aloud. James would just be disgusted, and then there goes our entire plan, not to mention our friendship.

(*)(*)(*)(*)

**James's POV**

I had a hard time believing that just that morning I had been sitting across the table from Logan by the pool, trying to figure out how to beat him at checkers. In the ten hours since Katie had proclaimed that she could help me as long as I let her sit on my lap so much had happened that it made my head spin. I just wanted to get home so that I could get some ice on my two-hundred or so bruises, and maybe watch a hockey game on TV or something. But…oh crap, what if the others were home? Logan was probably out with Camille and Carlos might have recovered from his stomachache enough to down a few more corndogs at _Corndog Mania_, the restaurant that sold all corndogs, but Kendall and Mrs. Knight? They were probably just sitting around the apartment, watching a movie or something. And they were bound to ask what had happened. The getting-into-a-fight-with-Jett part wasn't really shocking, it was just where we happened to get into the first fight. Was Kendall really going to believe that we ran into Jett and Jo at _A Fairy Love Story_? Well, it might be worth a try to pitch the story…

Katie kept glancing at me, worry creasing her brow, on the way home. I knew she was upset about what had happened, and I knew she was anxious over my constant flinching, and I was glad to know she cared, but honestly, I didn't regret punching Jett out at any moment. The things he was saying to and about her…I felt a hot, gooey pit of anger just thinking about it.

Eventually we pulled into the hotel parking lot and Katie parked the car and turned off the ignition. She helped me out of the car and into the lobby. The lobby was fairly empty because no one was allowed to loiter in the lobby after nine, and it was nine-thirty. There were shouts and screams and laughter from the direction of the pool, but we headed in the opposite direction, towards the elevator. Wordlessly, Katie hit the button for the elevator and within a few seconds the car had arrived.

"So what're we going to do if your brother and mother are in the apartment?" I asked once we were inside the elevator.

"Try not to let them get a good look at your face," Katie suggested, "and we'll go into your room so that I can take care of you."

"And what're you going to tell them when they ask why you're getting every single icepack we have out of the freezer?"

"I'll tell them I'm going to put them over the fans in yours and Carlos's room to see if we can make our own homemade air conditioners."

I cocked my head and winced when the bruises on my neck protested. "That could work. It's worth a try."

The elevator reached the second floor and we stepped out into the hallway.

We approached 2J cautiously, but didn't hear anything from inside the apartment. We opened the door carefully, but it appeared to be empty.

"Hello?" Katie called. "Anyone home?"

No answer.

"Maybe Kendall's listening to his iPod," I suggested to her, but just as the words were leaving my mouth, a piece of paper on the kitchen counter caught my eye. I crossed the room to snatch the paper up. "It's from Mama K! She and Kendall went out to a late dinner about half an hour ago. Cool. I guess no one else is here."

"Go into your room," Katie ordered. "I'll get the icepacks."

I followed her instructions and settled down on my bed. She came into the room a few moments later, carrying a load of icepacks in her arms and towels in her arms. "Here, just start applying them to your bruises," she said, panting a bit as she tried to keep a couple of packs from falling onto the ground.

I grabbed them and pressed them to my neck. "AAAGH! THAT'S COLD!"

Katie rolled her eyes. "Well, I should hope so. It is an _ice_pack after all."

I snatched a few more of them, but quickly discovered a problem.

"Uhhh…Katie? How am I supposed to hold them to my neck _and_ my face at the same time?"

"I'll help," she volunteered. "Here, move your hand." I let my hand drop from my face and she gently pressed a pack to my right cheek.

"You know," I said jokingly, "I have a feeling that fake-dating you is going to be dangerous."

She smiled bitterly. "You know something James? I think you're right."

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: So this is what I spent about four or five hours on yesterday, after classes (which I know isn't long by some standards, but its long for me). I really hope you all liked it! I had a lot of fun with this chapter, especially the long-ish part in the movie theater. However, I wasn't planning on chasing Kyle and Scarlett out, but hopefully it worked out okay =) Anyway. The review button. Yah. It still refuses to diet, I love to hear everyone's opinions on the story, and getting reviews makes me want to get the next chapter out faster (although I promise I'll never hold a chapter hostage for reviews.) So really, it's a win-win situation all the way - unless you guys are really, really patient, or really aren't into the story, in which case, could you pretend to be impatient or really into the story? :)_**

**_Wow. I think I just begged for reviews. That's sad. That's totally not me. Well, whatever. I'm tired and I'm sore from PE 101, since my professor made us run/walk laps around one of the college's tracks yesterday, and then had us get on the bike machines, treadmills, and eliptical machines today. Plus there's the part where we have to walk up five different flights of stairs with ten pound backpacks on our backs - I know plenty of people do that, but in my defense, my body is used to moving without the added weight._**

**_So, I'll shut up now and stop talking about the problems with college, since I've started rambling._**

**_Au revoir everyone :)_**


	5. Chapter 5 May I Present My Psycho Ex

_**Get ready...get set...Chapter Five!**_

_**Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure I couldn't afford to own Big Time Rush. So nope, I don't them or the show or anything connected with the name.**_

_**purplerocks13: YAY! THAT'S FANTASTIC! I'm so happy for you :) And thank you so much! James's reaction to Jett's...comments...seemed pretty natural, but it's always nice to hear that other people would probably react that way. Thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter :) And I look forward to hearing from you as well =)**_

_**Okay, so wow! A lot of people said that they loved when James punched Jett in Katie's defense. I loved writing that part, so I was super happy that you guys liked it as well!**_

_**And so many people reviewed chapter four, so thank you to everyone who did! I love reading the reviews, they make me smile :) And thank you to those who favorited or story alerted "Hot Water", it means so much!**_

_**Warnings: Mild language and mild sexual references**_

_**This chapter has a little bit more drama in it, it's a little less humorous. I think it's because I switched music halfway through writing it - I went from listening to Simple Plan's new stuff - on YouTube and their website, because sadly I can't seem to find their album anywhere - to Adele's song "Turning Tables", which is beautiful and I'm in love with it, but I think it might have changed the feeling of the chapter.**_

_**But I'm hoping you guys won't mind the drama too much, and incase you do, I'm planning on making the next chapter a more humorous one :)**_

_**Enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5 – May I Present My Psycho Ex-Girlfriend<strong>

**James's POV**

"So how bad does my face look?" I asked after a few minutes of silence.

Katie removed the ice and leaned forward. "Well…"

"Go ahead," I said with a sigh. "I'm a grown man. I can take it."

Katie's lips twitched upward in a slight smile. "That point could be argued."

"Which part?"

"Both."

"Come on, just tell me how my face looks."

Katie bit her lip. "You look like you had a brick wall fall on your face."

I cringed, and then yelped when one of the bruises on my cheeks contracted. "That bad huh?"

"Pretty much."

She pressed the ice back to my face. "I feel like I should be doing more, but I don't know what else to do. I wish Logan was here, he'd know."

I put my hand over hers as she held the pack to my face and smiled at her as best as I could without grimacing or yelling in pain. "You're doing fantastic. Seriously, my face would probably be way worse off if you weren't here."

Her lips curved up in a grateful smile, and I thought I saw a flash of something in her eyes that I had never seen before. "Thanks James."

I held her gaze, trying to figure out what it was that I had seen, but when it didn't reappear, I dropped my eyes and brought my hand down to my lap.

Katie winced a bit and the icepack on my eye slipped a little on my face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, alarmed.

"Nothing," she replied quickly. "I'm fine."

I moved my hand back to hers. "No you're not. What's wrong?"

She left out a huffy sigh. "It's not a big deal. It's just…I kind of bending down to hold the ice on your face and my back is starting to cramp up. I just need to sit down."

I gestured to the empty mattress that sprawled out beside me. "So sit down." Really, for someone who

was so smart, she really could be extremely stupid.

"But what if Kendall walks in?" she wanted to know. "Won't he get even more pissed off? I mean, I'm in your room anyway, but sitting on your bed? He'll assume the worst."

I knew what she meant. Sitting on someone's bed might seem completely harmless, but in Kendall's mind, it was two steps away from sex, maybe a step-and-a-half. "He's out with your mom. It's safe. Go ahead, sit down."

She hesitated, but then moved over so that she was sitting beside me on my bed. Her thigh brushed up against mine, and I smiled at the sudden contact. It was pleasant and warm and cozy and comfortable. Maybe a little _too_ comfortable…

I searched around my mind for a platonic topic and finally decided on, "So what'd you think of the movie?"

She laughed. "You mean the part that we actually saw? It was very…romantic. And I remembered about five minutes into it why I prefer action movies. What about you? Did you like the hour of the movie that we saw?"

"Uhhh…romantic movies…not really my think…But it was probably better than _A Fairy Love Story_."

Katie cracked up, throwing her head back. "I don't know…_A Fairy Love Story_ probably wasn't as sickeningly sweet as _Kiss and Tell 3_."

Before I could reply, she gasped. "I just remembered – I know what I can put on your neck and face! I'll be right back!" And she leapt up, letting the icepack fall to the bed.

I really hoped she wasn't getting what I thought she was getting. InstaBruiseHealer has got to be the worst medicinal product ever made. Not to mention the worst-smelling. It smells like a mixture of sour milk, perfumed cigarette smoke, and bad eggs. Not something I wanted to smell like until the cream finally wore off.

But somehow, after the events of the night, I didn't think I was going to get that lucky.

* * *

><p><strong>Katie's POV<strong>

I rummaged around in the bathroom's medicine cabinet, searching for InstaBruiseHealer. I knew James hated it more than he hated limp hair, but it would be just as beneficial to the healing process as the ice would. Which meant that if he wanted the deformed bruises gone before the paparazzi snapped pictures of him in all his wounded glory, he was going to have to suck it up and take it like the man he says he is.

I couldn't help but think of what he said after I had said that I wished Logan was there. James could be so sweet when he wanted to, and it reminded me why I had fallen for him in the first place. The entire

day had been a huge reminder of that. And it wasn't making it easy for me. I was fighting confusion at every twist and turn.

I finally spotted the white tube with the thick, icy blue writing that crossed the length of the container: _INSTABRUISEHEALER – Heals Bruises Three Times as Fast_.

I snatched the tube from the shelf it had been hiding on, and headed out of the bathroom, back to James's and Carlos's bedroom.

James was still sitting on the bed, holding icepacks to his neck. He looked up warily when I walked back into the room.

"Please tell me you didn't –AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!" it's amazing that a twenty-one-year-old guy can make such a high-pitched noise, but that's exactly what he did when I revealed the InstaBruiseHealer. He screamed like a five-year-old girl, threw the icepacks in the air, and tumbled right off the bed. Sadly for him, he couldn't escape because I was standing in front of the door. Instead, he crawled back on the bed, and I dove for him.

"Katie…" he began pleadingly. "You wouldn't – you're not evil – please don't – !" He scrambled back out of my reach, and I went after him. He rolled to one side and I lunged, pinning him to the bed. His eyes widened. "Katie…please…please…" he moaned.

I grinned wickedly. "Now be a good boy and stay still so that I can take care of you. Now tell me where it hurts," I added teasingly like I was a nurse who was trying to flirt with one of their patients.

"You know where it hurts," he said hoarsely. "But Katie...you're not going to…please…please…AAAGH!"

The last syllable came out as a shriek, since I had just uncapped the tube.

I winced. The smell really was pretty terrible and I couldn't blame him for not wanting it on any part of his skin, but he was the one who was paranoid about blemishes, and bruises were a lot worse than a tiny zit.

I dabbed some of the mixture onto my index finger and aimed for a bruise on his neck.

"KATIE!" James screamed. "KATIE! Oh wow, that's amazing! WHOA! OHHHH!" He tipped his head back as the InstaBruiseHealer worked its magic, relieving him of the pain.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?"

I whipped my head around as best as I could and James raised himself up just enough to see both Kendall and Mom standing in the doorway, looking more than a little alarmed. They must have come into the apartment during one of James's screaming bouts, because I hadn't heard anything.

It also suddenly occurred to me how this must look – and sound. I had James pinned under me on his bed with my hand on his neck, and he was yelling in what could be construed as ecstasy. Oops.

I tried to move, but with the sudden movement, I lost my balance and fell right onto James. Something told me that wasn't going to help our situation.

James caught me before I could go tumbling off him and off the bed, and Kendall crossed the room in three long and furious strides, ready to pull me off his best friend.

"Kendall!" Mom cried. "Don't – let's hear them out, okay? I mean…they're both fully dressed…"

In other words, she was pretty sure that we weren't having sex. That was encouraging.

"But – " Kendall whined.

"Kendall, things probably aren't how they look."

"Thank you!" I cried from where I was still lying right on top of James.

"Katie, get off of James, this isn't helping your situation."

"Yes Mommy," I replied as innocently as I could. I rolled off of James and onto the mattress before swinging my legs over the edge and sliding to the floor.

James sat up and got off his bed as well.

Both Mom and Kendall gasped. "What happened to your face?" Mom demanded.

"We…uh…" James began.

"We ran into Jett in the theater," I said, not stating _exactly_ where he had showed up, or with who.

"What was he even doing there in the first place?" Kendall demanded. "I thought he only went to movie _premiers_, not to actual cinemas."

"He was going to _Kiss and Tell 3_. He said that one of the actors in the movie is going to be in _New Town High _soon."

Kendall shifted a bit. "Was Jo there?"

James and I glanced at each other.

"Uhhh…" he began.

"Well…" I finished.

Kendall ran his fingers awkwardly through his hair, making it stick up in the back. "I see."

"But James, what happened to your face?" Mom pressed on.

"Jett said some stuff about Katie and I…punched him…and we kinda got into a fight…"

"What kind of stuff?" Mom wanted to know.

"My sexual preferences. Apparently I like it really kinky," I piped up.

"I'll kill that son of a bitch!" Kendall roared.

"No you won't, because apparently James already tried that and I'm assuming he walked away alive," Mom said.

"Unfortunately," James growled, clenching his fists.

"So…we were going to discuss what exactly Kendall and I walked in on, so why don't we go out into the living room?" Mom continued on.

"Yeah, and Katie, James, you two have to sit at least a yard away from each other," Kendall informed us.

"That's taking things a little too far sweetie," Mom told him.

"But Mo-om – "

"Kendall – "

"Mom," I interjected, "nothing was going on. I was just trying to get this stuff on James." I held the tube of InstaBruiseHealer up to show Mom and Kendall. "It's not a big deal, I was just helping him out."

"Was that what his screaming and moaning was about?" Kendall asked suspiciously.

"Well, first I was scared of the smell, but when she finally got that crap on me, it helped with the pain," James explained with a shrug.

"That's all that was going on?" Kendall confirmed.

"That's all that was going on," James and I stated together.

"Okay then," Mom said, getting to her feet. "I'm going to go get ready for bed. Goodnight kids."

* * *

><p><strong>James's POV<strong>

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-!

My eyes flew open at the sounds of someone trying to bang down the front door.

"Who could be at the door at three-thirty in the morning?" Carlos mumbled from his side of the room.

"I don't know," I grumbled back. "But we should probably go check."

I pushed the covers back and crawled out of bed – barely. I nearly fell over when I tried to stand up. I guess Jett did even more damage than what I had thought. I knew he had messed my face up, but the rest of my body felt like a car had rolled over it a couple dozen times.

Carlos, still about ninety percent asleep, didn't even notice, which was probably lucky for me. I didn't feel like explaining what had happened with Jett.

I managed to grab the bat that I knew was leaning against my dresser and held it up, ready to use in self-defense incase there was some creep trying to break in to the apartment. Granted, only very-well mannered creeps knock on the doors before breaking and entering, but they're still creeps nonetheless, and I wasn't taking any chances.

We crept out of the room and into the living room. Kendall, Logan, Katie, and Mrs. Knight were already out there. "Who do you think it is?" Mrs. Knight asked, sounding scared. After since the time right after we first moved here when she thought Buddha Bob was an axe maniac, she's been terrified that a real killer might come after us.

"Well Mom, here's a crazy idea!" Kendall said to her. "Why don't we just open the door and see who it is?"

"Oh…but…"

Kendall bounded forward, grasped the doorknob, and pulled the door open. He stared at whoever it was for a whole ten seconds before calling over his shoulder, "James, it's for you!"

I have to admit, my first thought was that it was a serial killer and Kendall was throwing me to the wolves. So I held the bat up higher and stepped forward, and nearly fell into the wall when I saw who it was. The bat would have come in handy, but unfortunately, you're not supposed to hit psycho ex-girlfriends, because they're, well, girls.

Courtney bounded into the room in all of her over-made up glory, threw her arms around my neck, and kissed me full on the mouth. And I immediately remembered one of the reasons why we had broken up in the first place. She kissed like she was trying to squeeze my lips off.

"Okay, okay, okay!" I cried, pushing her away from me as gently as I could. "You're – you're here! At three-thirty in the morning! Uhhh…why _are_ you here at three-thirty in the morning?"

She giggled. That was another problem. She was a giggler. And it was creepy. Like stalker, prowler, well-mannered-creeps-who-come-knocking-on-your-front-door-at-three -thirty-in-the-morning kind of creepy.

"You're so silly!" she squealed, playfully hitting me in the chest with the palm of her hand. Ow. Her nails were like talons. "I thought I would show up and see if you wanted to have a _reunion_."

Mrs. Knight cleared her throat. Bless her. "Uh, Courtney, we're all here, so now would not be a good time for you and James to…uh…_catch up_."

Courtney stuck out her lower lip, pouting. "We could always go to my apartment."

I brushed my hair out of my eyes. "Courtney, it's three-thirty in the morning. I just want to go back to sleep. We'll talk in the morning, okay?"

She let out a huffy sigh, making sure I knew how disgusted she was by my suggestion. "_Fine_. See you in a few hours."

"Goodnight." I dodged out of the way of her mouth and closed the door behind her and locked it. "Maybe it's not too late to book a flight to South America."

Mrs. Knight stepped forward and grasped me by the arms. "James, you need to tell her that you aren't interested in reigniting your relationship, otherwise she'll never leave you alone.

I sighed. "I know. But what if she just continues stalking me? I mean, she showed up here at three-thirty in the morning. Think about it. She's dangerous."

"Then that's when you get a restraining order against her. But until then, just talk to her, explain things to her, and be crystal clear. Don't leave any doubt in her mind that you no longer have feelings for her."

I decided not to mention to Mrs. Knight that I had never really had feelings for Courtney. She was hot. She was up for pretty much anything. In my book, those were the two most important assets a girl could have. But maybe they weren't enough…

Logan stretched and yawned. "I'm going back to bed. 'Night all." And he traipsed back to his and Kendall's room, with Kendall following close behind.

Carlos and Mrs. Knight were also heading back to bed, but I stayed rooted to the spot next to the door. What on earth was I supposed to say to Courtney that I hadn't said to her when we had broken up? What was I supposed to do to get my message through?

"I doubt she's going to be able to get in through the door, considering it's locked, but if it makes you feel better, we can always push the furniture of against it."

I nearly jumped out of my skin, but relaxed when I saw it was only Katie. She hadn't moved from where she had been standing either. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Shouldn't you?" she retorted, crossing her arms. "Come on James, what's going through your mind?"

"I'm just wondering what I'm supposed to say that will make her realize that I don't have feelings for her."

"Just say what you feel, but _be nice_ about it, because otherwise she might take out her anger on you. If she cares about you at all, she'll let you go." And with that Katie turned around and walked back to her room, leaving me feeling worse than ever, because I hadn't cared about Courtney at all.

Morning – the one with the sun, not the one at three-thirty – came all too soon. The last thing I wanted

was to get out of bed, but I knew I was going to have to sooner or later. After arguing with myself for a good forty-five minutes, I crawled out of bed and was out in the kitchen before 10:30. Katie was the only one still in the apartment. She was sitting on the couch, texting someone, but she looked up when I walked out of my bedroom.

"'Morning," she greeted me. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, once I actually fell asleep."

She nodded in sympathy, but I didn't feel like I deserved it. I was starting to wonder if I was as terrible to girls as, well, Jett. Sure, I didn't make those kinds of lewd comments to them, but I did use them for my own purposes. It had never even crossed my mind before, that maybe this wasn't right or moral, but now I was beginning to wonder just how much of a jackass I actually was. My only consolation was that at least I knew when enough was enough. At least, I think I did. I wasn't even sure about that.

"So Kendall's going to be back in a little while, he just went out to take a walk," Katie began, setting her phone aside.

I nodded as I pulled out a box of a cereal and reached for a bowl. "What's your point?"

"We should tell him that we're fake-dating – hypothetically, I mean, so that he doesn't automatically kill you."

I dumped Cocoa Puffs into the bowl and topped them with milk. "And if he's cool with the idea?"

"Then we tell him the truth."

"And if he hates the idea?"

"We write it off like it was a song idea or something like that."

I had to give her credit – she had put a lot of thought and effort into keeping me alive. But maybe I would rather Kendall kill me. At least then I wouldn't have to face Courtney again.

"Okay," I agreed reluctantly. "But you take the lead, because otherwise I'll just mess it up and I'll find myself being dangled out the window by my feet."

"I think he'd probably just bang your face into the oven door a few dozen times," Katie replied.

"Not helping."

I finished my cereal, showered, and slipped into jeans and a t-shirt.

I had just come out of my room when the front door opened and Kendall walked in.

"Kendall," Katie immediately began. "James and I came up with this idea yesterday – it's all hypothetical, but we were curious as to what your reaction would be."

Kendall cocked an eyebrow, and it was pretty clear that he was suspicious again. This was starting off really well.

(*)(*)(*)(*)

**Katie's POV**

Kendall was already suspicious. That wasn't a very good sign. But what could I say? Oh well, might as well just start off with my original plan.

"So what is this _hypothetical idea_?" Kendall asked skeptically.

I patted the cushion next to me and he wordlessly sat down. James sat down on his other side and gave him his most charming smile, which just happens to be the one that usually gets his head banged into the wall by a pretty girls' boyfriend. Smart move, James. Very smart.

"Well, we got to talking yesterday after I found out that Kyle asked another girl out. Again. And we were thinking about ways that I could get Kyle to notice me, and we thought – hey, wouldn't it be funny if we pretended to date to get his attention? I mean, it could totally work, and it would add extra punch because it's, you know, James."

"I don't like the idea," Kendall said immediately, not even missing a beat.

James blinked, and the light caught his lashes. I felt my breath catch in my throat and had to remind myself to exhale.

"Why not?" James asked, sounding slightly offended.

Kendall chortled. "Uh, because it's _you_ dude. You're the one who had a girl nearly breaking down our door at three-thirty AM, and then invite you to spend the rest of the night in her apartment with her. Besides, who would believe it? Katie's not exactly your type. She's too natural."

I was pretty sure he meant that as a compliment.

"Anyway," my brother continued, "people who fake-date always end up falling for each other."

"That only happens in the movies," I protested indignantly. "I would never fall for James just because we pretended to date!" It's true – I had already fallen for him, so it wasn't like I could get a second crush on him.

Kendall shrugged. "Whatever. Anyway, this is all hypothetical, right? You two would never actually be as stupid as to pretend to date just so that Katie could catch Kyle's attention, right?"

"Ummm…r-r-r-r-right," James managed to stammer out.

"O-of c-c-course," I stuttered, losing my usual cool posterior.

Kendall nodded. "Good. I'm glad we've got that cleared up." He stood up and stretched out his legs.

"By the way, how was the movie? Was _A Fairy Love Story_ as cheesy as it sounds?"

"Oh, yeah, totally cheesy," I bluffed. "I won't be buying it when it comes out onto DVD."

Kendall nodded. "Well, I'm starving, so I think I'll have lunch. You guys want anything?"

"No, I'm good," I said quickly and leapt to my feet. "I'm going to go and tan out by the pool."

"I'll come with you," James volunteered. "See ya later, Kendall!"

We changed into our swimsuits and were out of the apartment so fast we nearly crashed into our next door neighbor who was on her way back from the elevator, carrying about twenty different shopping bags.

It was our first time in the middle of the Palmwoods community after we had announced to Kyle that we were 'dating'. Hopefully he wouldn't be out there and we wouldn't have to worry about looking like a couple in love while trying to act like platonic friends. I was not looking forward to having to balance the two out.

We were fortunate for the moment – there was no sign of Kyle or Scarlett anywhere, so we took our regular seats in the lounge chairs by the edge of the pool.

Before we could start a casual conversation, however, Courtney came hurtling out of nowhere and literally flung herself right on top of James. He winced as she fell onto his two-hundred or so bruises.

"Courtney – Courtney – Courtney – Courtney –COURTNEY!" James cried. "Ow – ow –ow – "

Courtney picked herself off of James's stomach and instead sat herself in his lap. I saw him freeze. "Oh, I'm so sorry baby, I didn't realize you were so bruised. What happened? Do you want me to kiss them better for you?"

I had been amused up until that point but the moment she said that I began looking around for a bucket to vomit in.

"No, Courtney, I'm fine. Listen, we need to talk – "

"Yes we do," Courtney said, nodding. As she bobbed her head her curly blond hair bounced with her. She readjusted her bikini and her face became serious.

"You do know we're not actually dating, don't you?" James began. "I mean, we broke up. And sitting in my lap is not normal behavior."

"But baby, I want you back," Courtney whined. "I love you."

I gasped and quickly covered my mouth with my hand. Did she really love him? And if she did, then what did that mean for him? I hoped more than anything at that moment that he would let her down gently, and not just throw her off of him like a dead spider. He wasn't a cruel person by nature, but he

could get harsh with girls who clung to him after he was done with them.

Like it was their fault. He was so sweet and charming to them that they just couldn't help but think that he was _the one_, and then when he broke up with them, they immediately wondered what they had done wrong. And he had no idea the effect he had on them.

"Courtney," James said gently, taking her hands in his, "I care about you, I really do, but I'm not in love with you. I'm sorry. You're a great girl, but I'm not the one for you."

Wow. That was actually pretty amazing. I didn't know he had it in him to be so tender.

"I mean," he continued on, "maybe if things were different. I'm kind of dating someone else now – "

Wait – WHAT? Did he mean ME? He was aware we weren't actually dating, right? And that we weren't supposed to be announcing it to the public either?

" – So maybe we can just be friends," he finished up with flash of his signature charming smile.

Courtney didn't look very charmed. She stood up and towered over him, literally shaking with rage. "Were you _cheating_ on me?" she demanded.

James looked shocked. "Of course not! I'm just…"

"Who _is_ she?"

James glanced at me and I had to resist the urge to smack him upside the head. Looking at me after his psycho ex-girlfriend had asked that was, quite possibly, the stupidest thing he could have done.

"Is it _her_?" Courtney pointed accusingly at me.

"O-o-of course not!" James protested, but he wasn't very convincing. "I mean, she's my best friend's little sister!"

"That doesn't mean anything!" Courtney spat.

"We're not dating!" I cried.

Courtney turned fierce eyes on me. "Something's going on between you two, and I can see it. And I'm going to find out what's going on." And with that cheerful declaration, she turned on her heel and stalked off.

I exchanged glances with James. The look on his face showed that he knew how badly he had just messed up. But that didn't change what he had just done. The extent of his damage piled down to four words:

We were so screwed.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Oooh...so more drama, more mistakes, and more problems...Things are getting interesting, heehee ;)<em>**

**_So Courtney ended up a little less pyschotic than what I had originally planned. Yeah, she showed up at their front door at 3:30 in the morning, but that's pretty much the only crazy thing she did. The problem was that I began to sympathize with her and get a little annoyed with James...Which can't be good...But she's still going to be one of the antagonists, because of how angry she is with James._**

**_Now, as much as I hate to bring the review button's health up...It might be bored, so it could use something to do :) Plus, like I keep saying, I love reading everyone's comments on the story, they always brighten up my day!_**

**_So with that thought, I'll be on my way :)_**


	6. Chapter 6 He Likes Me, He Likes Me Not

_**I finally got Chapter 6 up! Whew! First of all, I am so sorry! I had planned on getting this chapter up two days ago, but I had a quiz to study for, fanfics to read, and college to go to. But no excuses! In any case, here it is!**_

_**Disclaimer: If I owned Big Time Rush, would I be putting up a disclaimer? No. I don't own Big Time Rush. Thus the disclaimer.**_

_**Warnings: Language and mild sexual references**_

_**IloveKendallS: Thanks for your review! Wild guess...you're a Kendall-lover ;) And if Kendall beat James up, that would make the story a little more boring...:)**_

_**Bigtimerushlover: Thank you so much for reviewing! And thank you! I'm so glad you like the story!**_

_**coconutbarleypuff: Thank you for all of your reviews! And thank you so much! I'm really happy that you like "Hot Water". Yep, James cares about Katie even more than he cares about The Face. I loved writing that part in Chapter 5, with Kendall and Mrs. Knight walking in on James and Katie, so I'm glad it made you laugh :) Ohhh...definitely trouble with the psycho ex...Well, since you pointed out that I beg for reviews - on the occasion ;) - and since you love this story enough to beg for the next chapter, I'm more than happy to update =)**_

_**THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED, ALERTED, OR FAVORITED THIS STORY! It means the world to me, and when I'm having a crappy day, it always makes me smile. And whoa, that sounded mushy...moving on...**_

_**Enjoy Chapter 6!**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 6 – He Likes Me, He Likes Me Not<strong>

**James's POV**

I don't know what I was thinking when I told Courtney I was dating someone else. I really don't. I'd done some pretty stupid things in the last twenty-four hours, but that one topped them all. I guess all I had wanted at that moment was for Courtney to leave me alone, and to not walk away with hurt feelings. Unfortunately, I managed to lead her right to Katie.

And you know what the irony of the situation was? I wasn't even dating Katie! I wasn't dating anyone! So Courtney was going to be trying to uncover a relationship that wasn't even a real relationship.

That was really messed up.

I was brought back to my senses by a hard blow to my head, courtesy of Katie Knight, AKA, my fake-girlfriend.

"OW!" I yelped out.

"Are you _crazy_? Do you _want_ Kendall to bang your head against the oven door? Do you _want_ to admit to the entire world that you are fake-dating your best friend's little sister? Is there even a _brain_ under that perfectly groomed hair?"

I would have been really insulted if she hadn't mentioned my hair. "Really?" I asked brightly, combing my fingers through my hair. "You think my hair is perfectly groomed?"

Katie face palmed. "_That's_ what you choose to focus on? Not on the damage that you have just done, but on what I said about your _hair_?"

I crossed my arms defensively. "Hey, I believe in focusing on the positive."

"Good for you. In the meantime, you better hope that Courtney is a terrible spy, because otherwise we're going to be out-ed as a fake-couple and, besides ensuring that I lose any chance I may have with Kyle and that you end up in the hospital, it'll just be plain humiliating."

I nodded. It would be humiliating – for both of us. Kyle wouldn't want to have anything to do with her if he found out what was going on, and I would probably end up with the horrible reputation of not being able to get myself an actual girlfriend.

"Well, I didn't exactly date her for her brain, so we're probably safe," I assured her.

"But she is the jealous type," Katie reminded me.

"Doesn't mean much. She's probably already hitting on Guitar Dude or someone. I'm sure we have nothing to worry about."

"Famous last words, James," she muttered. "Famous last words."

I jinxed it. I knew I did. And jinxes sure get put into motion fast, because literally five seconds after Katie stopped talking, Kyle and Scarlett emerged from the lobby.

Katie groaned. "Oh no. Now we have to look like we're in love. Ummm…put your arm around me."

I obeyed without a second thought and prayed that every single person who we knew would stay inside today and not look out their apartment windows.

Katie snuggled up to me and laid her head against my chest. Immediately my heart began beating faster and I couldn't figure out why. It made no sense that Kendall's little sister could have this effect on me.

I ran my fingers through her hair and pressed my lips to her hair, like I had done last night in the movie theater. I could feel her steady breathing and could tell that she was relaxed, even though she was putting on a major performance.

"Hi Katie, hi James!" Kyle chirped out once he reached us.

Katie sat up a bit and managed to turn to give him a glowing smile. "Oh, hey Kyle, hey Scarlett."

Scarlett smirked and peered at us over her Gucci sunglasses as she and Kyle sat down in chairs on Katie's other side. "So how was the movie?"

I needed to do some damage control, so I grinned. "It was good…at least what we saw of it…" I let my voice trail off with suggestion and I could tell Katie was blushing, even though my implication had never even happened. But hey, it added to the situation.

Scarlett giggled. "Ohhhh…I see."

Kyle nodded but his cheery mood seemed to have slipped away. That was a good sign for Katie, and the realization that Kyle didn't seem very happy at the idea of Katie and me spending most of the movie making out definitely uplifted her mood. Plus, it apparently gave her inspiration. She placed her hand on my thigh and said, "Babe, could you help with my sun lotion? I don't want to get sunburned."

I nodded, not quite able to think with her hand on my thigh – did she even _think_ about where she was placing her hand? – and she handed me the bottle of sun lotion. I popped the cap off of the bottle and squirted some of the pineapple-mango scented lotion onto my hand. She finally took her hand from my leg and turned around, but as she did so, her eyes caught mine and she smirked. Had she just repaid me for the insinuation of what had happened at the theater? Or was she simply playing with me, or had she really not thought about what she was doing, but realized it and decided that it just made us look move convincing? Well, I definitely wasn't going to be asking her about it, that was for sure.

She lifted her hair up, exposing her neck, and my heart began beating faster. What was wrong with me? My body was acting like I was _attracted_ to her or something! And I knew I wasn't. How could I be? She was Kendall's little sister, and therefore, she was my little sister. And I wasn't into incest. And that's what it would be, right, if I was suddenly, completely out of the blue, attracted to her? I mean sure, she's pretty, but she's not my type, and like I said, she's practically my sister. But she was a cute girl, so

of course I was going to react like a normal guy. It wasn't really a big deal. It was just hormones, and it had nothing to do with my feelings. And why did I even assume it had to do with feelings? Shit. I'm going crazy.

I gently massaged the lotion into Katie's skin, being sure to get all of her back, shoulders, and neck. Kyle was looking beyond pissed off by now, while Scarlett just sat beside him with her phone out, texting someone.

"Wow, James, you're really taking your time with that," Kyle commented. The words themselves were harmless, but the way he said it gave me the impression that he was wishing he was in my place. Perfecto. But why was he just starting to act like this now? If he really cared about Katie, wouldn't he have asked her out before? Maybe he was just one of those freaks who get's overprotective of their girl friends. You know the type – they can like and date other girls, but the girls can't like and date other boys. Or maybe he just wasn't thrilled about seeing a guy – an older guy with a reputation for being a player nonetheless – rubbing sun lotion into his best friend's back. Maybe that was it. Maybe.

I grinned over at him. "Hey, you can never be too careful with precious things." Wow. Had I just said that? I was starting to sound almost…_romantic_. That was a scary thought.

"Ahhhh," Scarlett cooed, rubbing her hand up and down Kyle's arm. "Isn't that so sweet, Kyle-Liger?"

_Liger_?

Katie coughed into her hand, and her body was now shaking from suppressed giggles.

"Yeah, Scarlett-Rabbit, it's adorable." Kyle said _adorable_ as if it was a type of poisonous mushroom. He was definitely jealous.

"By the way," Katie broke in, the humor in her voice very clear, "your nicknames for each other are just so damn cute! Liger…that's sheer genius."

Kyle blushed. "Oh yeah?" he shot back at her. "In that case what are yours and James's nicknames for each other?"

Katie flashed him a wide smile. "Those names are strictly for private uses only. I'm not into PDA, remember? The same goes for pet names."

Nice save. I had to give the girl credit, she was good at what she did.

I finished rubbing the lotion into her back and dipped my hands in the pool to the remains off of my fingers.

Scarlett stretched and yawned. "I just realized – I completely forgot my phone. I'm just gonna run upstairs and grab. Be right back!"

I continued running my fingers through the water. It felt good, kind of like running through a sprinkler on a hot day.

"Are you sure you guys are together?" Kyle asked. When I looked up, his eyes were on me, and they were smoldering with…anger? Jealousy? The need for revenge? Something passionate, that was for sure. "I mean, you guys wouldn't be pretending to be together to make someone…jealous…now would you?"

I could almost feel Katie clamp up beside me. And how dare he ask that? Was it really so hard to believe that Katie and I could like each other? That Katie could catch my attention and I could catch hers? I was sure there was an underlying insult hidden there, aimed at both of us, and so I straightened up in my seat and turned to stare Kyle down.

"And who would we try to make jealous?" I demanded.

Kyle shifted in his chair and looked down at the ground. "I don't know…maybe me?"

Oh no he didn't! Did he really have such a huge ego that he would just automatically jump to conclusions?

"Actually, Kyle…" now Katie sounded nervous, and she was twisting her fingers together. She was going to tell him. I knew she was going to tell him. And he was acting like such a jackass about this whole thing that I was sure he would just rip her apart. Couldn't she see that? Was she so blind that she couldn't see what an egotistical pig he was being?

So I did the only thing I could do. I saved her ass. Again.

"Why would Katie try to make you jealous?" I asked as if it confused me, which, at this moment, it kind of did. "You two are just friends, right?"

Kyle blinked slowly, which I was guessing he did when he was thrown off balance, before saying, "Yeah, of course! Duh. Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. Too much sun, I guess. I think I'll go and find Scarlett. Maybe we can go and catch _Kiss and Tell 3_ without her brother walking in on us. See you guys later." And with that he got to his feet and headed off into the hotel. Katie watched him go, frowning.

"Do you think he knows?"

I rolled my eyes. "Well, he would've if you had told him. Want my opinion?"

"No."

"He's egotistical."

"So are you."

"But I would never think that you were dating someone else to make me jealous," I pointed out.

She bit her lip. "Maybe he's just jealous."

"That thought did cross my mind," I admitted. "But it still doesn't make any sense. Has he ever shown

any interest in you before?"

Katie stared down at the concrete ground and shook her head, her bottom lip trembling, and I knew she was trying not to cry. That gave me my answer.

"Come on Batie-Bear," I said, and scooped her up, carrying her into a deserted part of the Palmwoods Park. I set her gently on the ground and sat down next to her, putting my arm around her. "Come on sweetie, tell me what's wrong."

"It just doesn't make any sense!" she cried and she buried her face in my chest, her body shuddering with sobs. I pulled her into my lap so that she would be more comfortable.

"What doesn't?" I asked patiently, stroking her hair gently.

"Why he's suddenly acting like he likes me, when he's never shown any sign of interest."

"But isn't this what you wanted?" I reminded her.

"Yes! But it's happening too fast! It was supposed to take a while. But it's happened immediately! And he was so excited for me when he thought I liked someone! Is he just upset because he thinks I found someone? Does he really like me but always hid it really well? What's going on?"

I paused, thinking. What was going on? Could it have anything to do with me? If Kyle was excited for her before…maybe he wasn't jealous…maybe he just simply didn't like me.

"Maybe it's not you," I said softly, wondering how much comfort this would be to her. "Maybe it's me."

She pulled back. Her face was tear streaked and her eyes were red and puffy, but she was still so beautiful. And that was a weird thought. Something to focus on later…

"Maybe he doesn't like me," I suggested gently. "Because he knows what I'm like and he's worried I'll use you."

Katie turned away, staring off into the distance. "That makes more sense," she said. "He was suspicious from the very first moment you said we were dating. He knows you would never date me – he should know. You two are into the same type of girls."

"Katie – "

"I mean, look at Courtney. Look at Scarlett. They're both bimbo blondes. They look like they hired Pamela Anderson's plastic surgeon to fix their chests. They probably weigh less than me. They're experienced, and I've never even had an actual boyfriend. So it's no wonder he's suspicious."

"Katie – " I tried again, but she didn't even seem to be listening.

"James, maybe we should just call this whole thing off. It's not fooling him, and he wouldn't give a damn anyway, except he knows you're out of my league."

My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe she had just said that. She was not out of my league! She just wasn't my type. She was Kendall's little sister for heaven's sake! And I couldn't fathom that such a self-confident girl could tear herself down so easily.

"That's not – "

"James, I'm serious. When I see Kyle next, I'll tell him you broke up with me. Then you don't have to deal with this, Courtney won't try to kill us, and we won't have to lie to everyone anymore."

And before I could stop her or say anything to change her mind, she got up off my lap and took off towards the Palmwoods parking lot. Something told me Mrs. Knight's car was going to be taken out for a spin. But wait…Mrs. Knight was at her new job…And the BTR mobile was currently being used by Logan, Carlos, and Kendall. Logan had wanted to see the new exhibit at the science center, but hadn't wanted to go alone. Kendall and Carlos had agreed to go as long as they could hang back and make jokes about the wonders of science to each other. I had opted out, obviously, to hang with Katie. Plus, anything that involves science gives me a headache.

So both cars had been taken, which meant that Katie would have to go back to the apartment. Maybe she was already headed in that direction.

So I picked myself up and began walking towards the hotel.

As I walked, I tried to convince myself that calling off the plan would be for the best. I mean, it was only the second day, and already we had two (maybe three, depending on Kendall's mood at the moment) suspicious people, one of whom was trying to prove that we were together; my body felt like I had been run over by a dump truck; and I couldn't keep track of all the lies we had already had to tell. So maybe just quitting while we were ahead (or behind, in this case) was a good idea. But I didn't want to. After Kyle's comments, after seeing how upset Katie was, how much Kyle was capable of confusing her, just made me want to prove to him that he was missing out on something spectacular.

Katie was beyond special. She was wonderful. She was beautiful, smart, funny, clever, and so amazingly sweet when she wanted to be. She had been the best friend to Kyle she could possibly be, while trying to hide her crush from him, and every single time, he knocked her down. Yesterday hadn't been the first time he had blown her off for one of his girlfriends. Yet she was always there for him, always smiling through the tears when he needed girl advice. How she did it, I couldn't imagine. All I could think was that she was a lot tougher than what I had originally thought, and I had always imagined her to be the equivalent of a small army.

And with a jolt, I realized I had never given her crush on Kyle much thought. I had never asked her how she was dealing with Kyle dating this girl, or let her know that if she needed to talk to someone, she could talk to me. I cared, I knew that much. But I had always been so absorbed with myself and the band and whatever new girl I was screwing – both figuratively and literally – that I had begun to pull away from her. Up until yesterday, she had been in this battle all alone.

But she wasn't alone anymore. She had me. And I was going to make sure that Kyle realized just how

out of Katie's league _he_ was. How dare he treat her like crap for so long! It had obviously had an effect on her. Her confidence was a lot lower than what I had always thought. And that was just wrong.

I didn't even look around the lobby when I walked in; I just kept stalking towards the elevators.

* * *

><p><strong>Katie's POV<strong>

I couldn't believe I had just said all that to James. I couldn't believe I had let my façade slip so far down. But I guess I had reached my breaking point.

James was right. Kyle didn't have feelings for me. He just didn't like James, for whatever reason. He had in the beginning, when we were younger, but as we had grown up, James had become really bad when it came to girls. But now…was Kyle any better? I had always assumed that he was, but now I was wondering. He chose the exact same type of girl as James, and tended to dump them within a couple of months. How had I ended up attracted to the same type of boy?

But James was better. James could tell when something was wrong. He had never asked me to get lost just because a hot girl was coming his way. He treated me with respect. I couldn't remember the last time I felt like Kyle valued my opinion. And it bothered me. It bothered me beyond measure.

I had been heading towards the parking lot, because I had my keys with me and I was craving a nice, long drive, but halfway to the parking lot, I realized that Mom had the car. Damn. I really needed my own car.

So I turned around, and wiping my eyes with the back of my hand, I walked back to the hotel. James was nowhere in sight, which was a huge relief to me, because I wasn't sure I could face him. I was beyond humiliated at how much I had dumped on him back in the park. He probably thought I was an insecure basket-case by now.

As I passed through the lobby, I didn't see anyone else who I was friendly with, so I just kept on going.

Instead of taking the elevator, I climbed the stairs to the second floor, and slammed into the apartment.

There was silence, so I figured I was by myself.

But being completely alone was even worse. Immediately, my brain went into overdrive, and I couldn't stop it. I swear, there were voices – or more accurately, one voice – that was cold, cunning, and manipulative, and it was talking to me, telling me everything that was wrong with me:

_You were stupid to ever think that Kyle could ever look at you the way he looks at Scarlett._

_Of course you're out of James's league – he's hot, and you're not._

_You'll always be like the little sister – what guy would ever look at a tomboy who doesn't even have beauty to give her an edge?_

_You're just convenient to Kyle, and always will be, until he moves onto bigger and better things._

_And James? HAH! He's probably laughing his head off right now at how long it took you to figure out where you stand with both him and Kyle. Or else he's already in bed with some new girl. Either way, he'll never see you the way you want him to see you._

"STOP!" Oh wow. Had I screamed that out loud? "I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON JAMES!"

_Keep telling yourself that, honey. Just keep on fooling yourself. You're so good at it – you actually convinced yourself that Kyle would ever want to be with you._

And that was the last straw – I burst into tears and dove into my room, banging my door shut as hard as I could, and throwing myself on my bed. I grabbed the nearest pillow and stuffed it violently over my ears, trying to drown out that horrible voice.

It didn't work though. It kept on repeating that I had been fooling myself about Kyle, and that James would never respect me again.

My body was shaking with sobs, and I was gasping for breath, whimpering, "No…no…no…" over and over again.

"Katie."

"No…no…no…no…no…"

I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off.

"Batie-Bear…" and James pulled me into a sitting position, removing the pillow from my ears, and enfolding me in his arms. Just like out in the park, I cried into his shirt for what felt like ages. The entire time he just held me, occasionally pressing his lips to my hair. I clutched at him, wishing that I could stay in his arms forever, wishing that the fake-dating had been real, wishing that the last day hadn't been just a scheme.

At last, I began to calm down enough to stop crying, but James didn't let me go. He stroked my hair softly, his chin resting on my head, neither of us saying anything. It was peaceful and quiet and perfect. Well, almost perfect.

Finally, James let me go enough to look down in my face. "How the hell could you say that you're out of my league?" he asked. "That's not true, and I think we both know it. If anything _I'm _out of_ your _league. Have you not forgotten the disaster with Courtney? The million other girls I've used?"

I swiped at my eyes. "But you're…you're a much better person than what you give yourself credit for."

"I'm not a good person around some people," James said softly. "If you hadn't told me to be nice to Courtney, I'm not sure what I might have said to her. You're a much better person than I could ever be."

"So I have a wonderful personality," I scoffed. "Thanks James. That's the kiss of death."

I looked away from him pointedly, crossing my arms across my chest, but James gently slipped his middle and index fingers under my chin and turned my face back to his.

"You're beautiful Katie. Inside and out. If Kyle was worth your time, he would have figured that out by now."

"It doesn't matter," I said, sighing. "I fooled myself into believing that he liked me, when it was so obvious that he didn't. He just doesn't like _you_."

"He could have told you that he doesn't approve of me, instead of sending you mixed signals," James replied, frowning. "He didn't have to insinuate that this whole thing is a fake."

"He knows I like him," I said blankly as the shock hit me. "He must. Why else would he ask that?"

"It would be a pretty lame joke," James agreed.

We fell into silence, but it didn't last for very long.

"Well, if he thinks that you like him, then we'll just have to prove him wrong," James said determinedly.

"But I'm not even sure how much I like him," I told him. "I mean, up until a half hour ago I was completely smitten, but now I'm beginning to think that he treats girls worse than you do. At least you know how to respect me. I'm not even sure Kyle can say that much."

James waved that thought aside. "Oh, I'm sure he does, otherwise he would just ignore you. You two are friends. No, you know what really pisses me off?"

"What?"

"The way he just acts like you're always going to be there. That might be another reason why he's so upset about you 'dating' me. He's realizing that you're not always going to have time for him, the same way he hasn't always had time for you."

"So what do we do?"

"We continue on pretending to date. It's the only thing we can do."

"But – but – that's going to continue complicating things," I stuttered out. "Is it really worth it?"

James stared into my eyes. "After what I heard him say today Katie, after watching him for years just shun you aside, it will be more than worth it."

"But we're already in a huge mess – "

"Last time our intentions were different – you were trying to make Kyle jealous. This time around, it's revenge. It's showing him that he can't use you. Because that's what he is, Katie. He's a user. Even with the one girl who he refuses to date. I'm betting he has a tendency to make almost everything about him. If I asked him what your favorite flavor of ice cream is, he wouldn't know. He'd probably say

vanilla or something, when it' – "

" – A mixture of everything!" we finished together.

"Exactly," James said with a triumphant grin. "So we're going to make him regret that he ever thought he could treat you like crap."

"He probably doesn't even know he's doing it," I muttered.

"No, he probably doesn't," James agreed. "But he is, and he needs to realize that either he's going to have to change his ways, or live a sorry and miserable life without your friendship – or your heart."

"He's never going to like me," I insisted.

"People change," James replied. "He might. For all we know, he's just been waiting for you to stand up to him. Who knows? By this time next week, he could be eating out of your hand."

Maybe James believed it, but I didn't.

James reached around to my nightstand and grabbed a tissue from the box. He wiped the tearstains from my cheeks and smiled. "How are you feeling?"

I had James on my side. We had a plan. And James thought I was beautiful.

I grinned back at him. "A lot better. Thanks."

His smile widened. "No problem. We're friends. I'll help you no matter what, and don't you ever forget it."

"I won't," I promised.

"Good. So what do you want to do now?"

"Can we just hang out in the apartment?" I requested.

James nodded. "Of course. In fact…" he glanced at his watch. "They've got a Buffy the Vampire marathon starting in about fifteen minutes. I don't suppose you'd want to watch – "

I was up and running out of there. "WHAT CHANNEL?"

James followed me, laughing. "I think I'll let you figure that one out yourself."

It was pretty easy to find the channel – it's called a TV guide. And soon enough, James and I were settling down on the couch to watch reruns of old Buffy episodes. But the peace and quiet didn't last for very long. Does it ever?

There was a knock on our front door. James and I glanced in alarm at each other. The last time someone had come to our door had been at three-thirty this morning.

"I'll get it," James volunteered, getting up from his spot on the couch. He crossed the room and opened the door. He stared at whoever it was for several seconds before turning his head to call to me,

"Katie, sweetie, it's for you!"

Kyle.

I stood up and joined James at the door, facing my best friend. James slipped his arm around my waist and I leaned into him subconsciously. Hmmm…this could be fun…

"Hey!" I said cheerfully. "What're you doing here?"

Kyle shuffled his feet a little awkwardly. "You weren't answering your phone, and I kind of needed to talk to you."

"What do you want to talk to me about?" I asked easily, as if I hadn't spent a good half hour crying my eyes out over him and his player's ways.

"Can we go someplace private?" Kyle shot his eyes at James and James immediately stepped back as if to say he wouldn't interfere.

"We could do my room," I suggested.

Kyle nodded. "That'll work."

He followed me to my bedroom and I closed the door gently.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked. Kyle sat himself on my bed and I slipped into my desk chair.

"James."

"Okay. What about him?"

"I'm worried about you. I mean, come on Katie, you know what he's like! _Kiss and Tell 3 on the first date_? I mean, _really_?"

I bristled at his comment. "Uh, remind me Kyle, my memory's a little fuzzy – weren't you at _Kiss and Tell 3 _with Scarlett? And wasn't that your guys' first date?"

Kyle shifted as if he was uncomfortable with the situation. "Well…yeah…but…that doesn't count!"

"How?" I cried, getting to my feet. "How the hell does that not count? You barely know her!"

Kyle leapt up as well and faced me, face livid and eyes blazing. "At least _I_ don't go around fucking every girl who walks by me. At least I'm not screwing my best friend's little sister!"

"I'm not having sex with James!" I cried.

"Oh yeah?" Kyle shot back. "Then why is _his_ phone on _your_ bed?" He held up James's black iPhone. It looked like every other black iPhone, except one of James's many headshots served as the background wallpaper. Ooh. His phone must have fallen out of his pocket when he was comforting me earlier.

"Because we were talking in here earlier," I retorted calmly. "Trust me, Kyle, it's not what it looks like?"

"Your hand was on his thigh earlier, down at the pool," Kyle countered.

"I can think of at least one other place it could have been," I replied.

"And Jett Stetson's telling everyone that he caught you and James getting it on in the movie theater bathrooms."

"And since when do you believe _Jett Stetson_?" I asked incredulously. "I know he's Scarlett's brother, but he's kind of a sleaze ball."

"That doesn't mean anything," Kyle informed me.

I placed my hands on my hips and marched right up to him, standing on my tip-toes so we were eye-to-eye. "Tell me something, Kyle Margolis. Why are you so determined to believe that I'm sleeping with James? What on earth gives you the idea that I would ever let him in my bed? Tell me Kyle, because I'm curious."

"Because…because…"

"I'm waiting."

"Because he doesn't go out with girls if they won't sleep with him!" he burst out.

Oh. That was true.

"I guess I'm the exception," I replied. "Honestly, I can't _believe_ you're taking _Jett Stetson's_ word over mine. We're supposed to be best friends. Whatever happened to that, huh?"

"Well – I – "

"Uh huh. Whatever Kyle."

But he had a rebuttal ready. Granted, it sucked. But it was still a rebuttal nonetheless.

"How do I know you're not having sex with James?"

"I don't know, Kyle. You're just going to have to take my word for it."

"You used to like him," he accused. "Come on, Katie, I know you did."

"That's a really lousy reason," I informed him.

"Hey, people do all sorts of crazy things for the people they love."

Tell me about it.

"I mean, for all I know, a couple of nights ago he came to you and asked if you'd mind cuddling with him and then – "

"I AM NOT HAVING SEX WITH JAMES!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "And this discussion is done. I would like you to leave, please."

I marched across the room and threw open my door to find James standing right outside, with Logan, Carlos, and…Kendall…Oh. That's not good.

* * *

><p><strong>James's POV<strong>

I would just like to make one thing very clear – I never eavesdrop on anyone. Well, okay, hardly ever. Well, maybe once in awhile. Every now and then. Whenever someone's hiding something from me. But it's not like I make a _habit_ out of it! And under normal circumstances, I could have just left Katie and Kyle alone. And I did. Technically.

I stood outside Katie's bedroom door with my ear pressed against the wood. It sounded like they arguing about _Kiss and Tell 3_…Hmmm…maybe I'd gotten her all upset over nothing. Maybe Kyle really was jealous.

"…At least _I_ don't go around fucking every girl who walks by me. At least I'm not screwing my best friend's little sister!" I heard Kyle roar.

Ummm…_excuse_ me?

"I'm not having sex with James!" Katie retorted.

"Then why is _his_ phone on _your_ bed?"

Oh. My bad. I guess my phone fell of my pocket when I was in there earlier.

The front door suddenly swung open and Kendall, Logan, and Carlos trampled in. Katie and Kyle apparently hadn't heard them come in though, because they were still arguing about whether or not Katie and I were having sex.

"What are you – " Kendall began, but I held my hand up and put my fingers to my lips.

"Kyle's in there, and they're arguing," I explained softly, just as Kyle said,

"Your hand was on his thigh earlier, down at the pool."

Luckily, Kendall, Carlos, and Logan were standing back and recounting one of their adventures at the Science Center, otherwise I might have been getting my face smashed against the floor.

"I can think of at least one other place it could have been," I heard Katie retort coolly. Nice.

"And Jett Stetson's telling everyone that he caught you and James getting it on in the movie theater bathrooms."

Wait – WHAT?

My jaw must have dropped and my eyes must have been burning because all three of my friends stepped forward.

"What? What did they say?" Kendall demanded.

I held up my hand, trying to listen, but Logan began talking.

"Why are you even listening to them in the first place?"

"Because Kyle might say something to hurt Katie," I replied.

"Come on, James," Kendall said with an eye roll. "This is Katie we're talking about. Nothing can hurt her."

I smiled bitterly. "You'd be surprised at what can knock her down."

"Yeah, but Kyle? Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"You're overreacting. I'm supposed to be the big bro – "

"I AM NOT HAVING SEX WITH JAMES!" Katie suddenly screamed out, and we all spun back to face her bedroom door. She wrenched the door open and her jaw dropped.

"Oh, hey guys. How was the science center?" she asked, making a really terrible attempt of acting nonchalant.

"Katie, why does Kyle think you're having sex with James?" Kendall asked through gritted teeth.

"Uh, because it's all over the place," Kyle said in a duh-voice. "Jett Stetson said he walked in on them at the movie theaters, in the bathroom."

"Yeah, that's not sanitary," Logan piped up. The rest of us turned to glare at him, and he shrugged weakly. "I'm just saying."

"That never happened!" Katie cried, sounding exasperated. "It's just a stupid rumor. Jett's just pissed because James kicked his ass."

James smirked. "I did kick his ass pretty good."

"Any other reason?" Kendall demanded of Kyle.

"James's phone was on her bed," Kyle replied.

"I can explain that," I quickly spoke up. "We were in there earlier – _just talking_! – and my phone must have fallen out of my pocket."

Kendall let out a long sigh. "Honestly, we're going to have to start setting some ground rules for you two. Kyle, get out of here, go do whatever it is you do."

Kyle nodded and hurried out, smirking at me as he passed through the front door.

"Now, I'm going to rest and recuperate from walking around all day," Kendall said. "And then I'm going to go, find Jett, and kick the crap out of him. Excuse me." And he headed into his bedroom.

Logan shook his head. "How do you two end up in these situations?"

"A little too easily," I replied. At this point, I didn't care that Kyle might have just told Kendall all of that because he wanted Katie and me broken up. I didn't give a damn. I really didn't –

Katie had gone into her room, but she came out, carrying her phone. She held it up so that I could see the text on it. It was from Kyle: **Sorry K, but I had 2 do it. He's no good 4 u. Please forgive me? 3 :)**

Katie looked at me, and I stared back at her.

Logan and Carlos headed into Carlos's room, arguing about some constellation or other, and I turned to Katie.

"He's jealous."

"So jealous."

"Do you want to continue with this?"

"Hell yeah, until I can get him to say that he's jealous and that he likes me."

"And do _you_ still like _him_?" For some reason, just that question made my stomach twist into knots.

Katie stared down at that text. "I think I could find it in my heart to. After all, we do crazy things for the people we care about. And that's what Kyle was doing."

And with that, still gazing at her phone, she went back into her room, leaving me to wonder how someone so clever could be so stupid when it came to boys.

* * *

><p><strong><em>This chapter ended up a lot more emotional, and a lot more confusing, than I had originally planned. It was supposed to be simple and humorous, but instead Katie ended up with an emotional meltdown, Kyle told on her and James, and James is starting to get confused about Katie. Oh, and Katie can't decide what her feelings for Kyle are. And hers and James's reasons why they're fake-dating keep changing. Wow. Now <span>I'm<span> confused._**

**_Then there's those rumors that Jett Stetson is spreading around...I got the idea from something that my neighbor said about me and a guy friend a few years ago, so how's that for using real-life experiences for inspiration? But at least I managed to get a teensy-bit of Jatie in there - granted, you have to squint and stare at the words really carefully, but it's still in there. :)_**

**_So...whaddaya guys think? Is Kyle jealous? Is he just over-protective of Katie? Does it have to do with James? And what about James anyway? Or Katie? Any thoughts on him?_**

**_Anyway, I'm sorry if the chapter got confusing, and I know it was bouncing all over the place, emotional-wise, and I know the thing with Katie bursting out of the room after screaming "I AM NOT HAVING SEX WITH JAMES!" and having witnesses to her outburst is pretty cliche and really similar to some of the other stuff in this story, but hopefully you guys don't mind too much...And now I'm rambling. So I'll shut up and let the review button do the begging for me :) It's right there, and it's lonely. Seriously, it could use a friend. And I love hearing your thoughts on the story..._**

**_Adios!_**


	7. Chapter 7  Where's a Time Machine?

_**I've made it to Chapter 7! Whoo! **_

_**Okay, so it's kind of late and I've been up since seven this morning and I've had the energy sucked out of me by my fellow classmates since Monday (although no class tomorrow!) so I'm kind of rummy, but I really wanted to get this posted!**_

_**Disclaimer: Once again - I do not own Big Time Rush, because if I did, I would not be putting a disclaimer in the beginning of each chapter!**_

_**Warnings: Language and sexual references**_

_**musiclover: Thank you so much! That's so sweet :) I really hope this chapter lives up to the standards set by the other chapters. And thank you so much for reviewing! :)**_

_**THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED, FAVORITED, OR PLACED AN ALERT ON THIS STORY! Wow, so many people reviewed last time, it's kind of crazy. There's already sixty-eight reviews! That's insane!**_

_**Anyway, on to business...So this chapter is kind of important for the story. There's also a lot of drama in it (although there's still some humor!) too, which I wasn't originally planning. There's something towards the end of the chapter that I never planned for, but it kind of snuck in there, and well...**_

_**Enjoy the chapter! ;)**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7 – Where's A Time Machine When You Need It?<strong>

**Katie's POV**

The next morning equaled Day 3 of Fake-Dating. My original title had been shortened to the Fake-Dating Plan or the Kyle Scheme, depending on the moment.

Mom decided that we hadn't been spending enough time together, and since it was a Saturday morning, we should all have breakfast together.

Now, by this point you're probably wondering why the guys haven't been in the studio for the last couple of days. There is a reason for this – Gustavo Rocque. He's been out of town for the past few days, taking some time off from the 'Dogs'. He would be back in the studio on Monday, but until then, Kendall, James, Logan, and Carlos were off from work.

"So how has everyone's week been?" Mom asked as she piled each of our plates with pancakes. It's been a rule for a couple of years that no one is allowed to begin eating until everyone else is dished up, because otherwise Mom and I would starve.

"A week plus no Gustavo?" Kendall said with a grin as he dumped maple syrup over his pancakes. "It's been fantastic! Although I could do without the constant wondering if my little sister having sex with one of my best friends."

James held up his glass of orange juice as if toasting him. "Yeah, I could do without you wondering that too."

Logan heaved out a heavy sigh. "Would someone _please_ like to tell me what's going on? Kendall, since when did you start thinking that Katie and either Carlos or James are sleeping together?"

"It's James, and since Thursday," Kendall answered as he dumped a second kind of syrup – raspberry – onto his pancakes as well.

"Yeah, see, I don't get it."

"I was on James's lap during the checkers game," I reminded Logan.

Logan frowned. "But she was only sitting there so that she could help him win…and…"

"Because there were no other places to sit," I leapt in again, before Logan could remember that I had been trying to make Kyle jealous. Kendall didn't need to know that. If he did, he might realize that the hypothetical discussion from yesterday had actually been real.

"Ooh-kay…"

"And then," Kendall continued on, "Mom and I walked in on them – "

"Not having sex!" James and I burst out at the same time.

"But it sounded like it!" Kendall retorted.

Mom sighed. "But they weren't. James and Jett got into a fight at the movies because of something Jett said about Katie and Katie was patching him up."

"You brought out the InstaBruiseHealer?" Carlos asked me with a grin.

"The one and only."

"Ah man, he hates that stuff. It must've been hilarious!"

"Yeah, I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard," James said, layering on the sarcasm.

"And then there was yesterday with Kyle…" Kendall said.

Mom immediately perked up. "What happened yesterday with Kyle?"

"Oh, he heard some stupid rumor that Jett's spreading around," I said, rolling my eyes. "Apparently James and I were having sex in the bathroom at the movie theater."

"Which isn't sanitary to begin with – " Logan started.

"Dude!" Carlos interrupted him. "What is it with you and sanitary conditions?"

"I'm just saying, if you're going to do it anywhere – "

"Not in front of the mother!" Mom cried out. "You two were not having sex, and have never had sex – with each other, I mean," she added for James's benefit, since even she couldn't pretend to not know what goes on between him and his girlfriends.

"Never," James said, while I replied,

"Mom, no!"

"Good. Now continue on with the story, please, Katie."

"Well, Kyle kind of believed Jett, probably just because he's dating Jett's sister, and I got so frustrated that I screamed _I'm not having sex_ _with James_ and the guys were standing outside the door, so they heard, and Kendall immediately got upset."

Mom shook her head. "Katie, James, what is going on with you two? It's like suddenly every time I turn around Kendall wants to kill James for doing something that James didn't do. Is something going on that I need to know about?"

"Of course not!" I cried. "Kendall's just being a paranoid freak, Jett's just a jerk, and Kyle's just got issues. James and I are totally innocent in all this!"

Well, almost, anyway.

Needless to say, that breakfast was fun and totally the way I wanted to spend my Saturday morning. Right after getting a root cannel filled in with no anesthetics.

Luckily, everyone else had plans for the rest of the morning. Kendall was planning on spending his day in his room, wallowing in self-pity over his breakup with Jo, Logan was planning on going to a math lecture down at the community college, and Carlos was planning on eating his way through as many corndogs as he possibly could. Mom was planning on going down to a new health spa a few blocks down the road from the Palmwoods, since life with us isn't exactly what could be considered relaxing.

As soon as everyone was out of the apartment, James turned to me. "Ready to go and make Kyle regret the day he dissed you for Scarlett?"

I grinned. "Very ready. Let's go."

We left the apartment together and made our way to the elevator.

"So Kyle's been texting me nonstop since last night," I told James. "He's decided to give you a chance."

James snickered. "He just doesn't want you pushing him into the pool."

"Be that as it may…"

With a DING the elevator reached the lobby and we stepped out. The lobby was crowded with people, but two of them in particular stuck out: Jo was sitting with Camille who seemed to be trying to comfort her over something.

As we closed in, their conversation floated towards us.

"Look," Camille was saying to Jo gently, "I'm sure if you just tell him about it – "

"I can't!" Jo wailed. "What if he never wants to talk to me again?"

"Who are you guys talking about?" James asked, leaning on the back of the couch. Both girls jumped and whipped around in their seats.

"James!" Camille cried, pressing her hand to her chest. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry," James apologized, grinning at me as I joined them. "I was just interested in who you two were talking about. It sounds juicy."

"It's – it's nothing – and no one," Jo quickly said.

"So we're talking about an imaginary situation and an imaginary person. Yeah, I totally believe that," I broke in.

"It's not – you don't – does it really matter?" Jo snapped.

"Apparently not," James said, stepping back with his hands in the air in the _don't shoot_ motion. "We'll

leave. Sorry we bothered you."

And he grabbed my hand and dragged me off in the direction of the pool.

"I wonder what's going on with Jo," I said once she and Camille were out of earshot. "It sounded serious. Do you think it has anything to do with Kendall?"

James bit his lip as he held the door open for me so that I could walk out before him. "Maybe. Whatever it was, she was upset. But hey, for all we know, she accidentally kissed Jett and is now trying to figure out how to get the taste out of her mouth."

"But she was trying to figure out how to tell someone," I argued as he let the door go and matched me stride-for-stride.

"Maybe she's trying to figure out how to tell Jett that he kisses like a slug," James suggested.

I had to smile at that one. It almost made sense. "Well, of course he kisses like a one! He's part slug after all."

"Katie! James! Over here!"

I looked up to see Kyle and Scarlett waving at us from lounge chairs.

James and I glanced at each other and then James took my hand in his and we walked together over to Kyle and Beach Barbie.

"Enjoying the sun?" Kyle asked weakly as James and I sat down.

"Of course," I replied coolly, looking over my sunglasses at him.

"Look," Kyle said, "I'm really sorry about what I said yesterday. I was just – freaking out I guess."

Scarlett nodded as if to emphasize Kyle's point. "Yeah, he felt totally guilty about what he said. My brother can be a completely jerk sometimes, and I told Kyle that he really shouldn't believe him unless he had video footage."

James and I stared at her with our jaws nearly hitting the ground. Was it possible that she wasn't a complete airhead?

"Katie, Scarlett, I was hoping I could talk to James alone," Kyle said to us, and Scarlett immediately nodded, back to her Barbie routine.

"Oh, of course! Katie, come on! We can go shopping! I seriously need some new lip gloss."

"Shopping. For lip gloss. Sounds like – "

"Fun, right?"

More like torture, but I didn't get the chance to say that. Scarlett was already on her feet and she grasped me by the arm and yanked me to my feet, pulling me away from the boys.

I turned my head to send James and Kyle a death glare – they both know how much I hate shopping.

James waved cheerily at me and mouthed "Have fun!"

I was going to kill him. Right after I strangled Scarlett.

* * *

><p>James's POV<p>

I laughed to myself as I watched Scarlett drag Katie away. Katie was going to be in a really bad mood when she finally got home, but until then, I would have the look on her face to keep me amused.

Of course, there was also Kyle.

I turned back to him. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Kyle scooted over one chair so that we were sitting right next to each other.

"I wanted to talk to you about Katie."

I let out a deep sigh. "For the last time, Kyle, I'm not sleeping with Katie."

"Yeah, I know. I should've known Katie wouldn't have sex with someone who she just started going out with."

"Maybe you should tell _her_ that."

"I will. Later. But I really wanted to discuss something with you first."

"Which would be?"

"What exactly attracted you to Katie? I mean, why are you dating her?"

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. That was a question I could answer – a little too easily for my own comfort.

"Her personality," I answered instantly. "The way she's not afraid of anything. How she can outwit half the people in L.A and not even blink an eye. Her sense of humor. Her laugh. The way she's not afraid to say what's on her mind. Her smile. Her eyes. Everything about her."

I couldn't remember the last time I had been this honest about anything, or when the answer to a question had come so readily to my mind. And suddenly it all came crashing down around me.

I realized with a jolt that no matter what I said, no matter what I had done, no matter what I had trained

myself to think, I had fallen for Katie. And it hadn't just been in the last couple of days. I don't know how long this had been going on, but it definitely wasn't recent. It had just taken oversized measures to get me to realize how I felt.

The only problem: She likes Kyle. And Kyle probably likes her back. Which didn't exactly put me in the best of situations.

The only thing I could do was continue to help her and hope with all my heart that she figured out that Kyle wasn't good enough for her.

I wonder how much I can get away with under the pretense of fake-dating…

I was shaken back to reality by Kyle when he placed his hand on my shoulder. "James, you okay?"

I quickly gave him a smile. "Yeah, I'm cool. Just thinking."

"About anyone in particular?" he asked, sounding hopeful. I guess he wanted me to say Katie, to prove that I really do care about her.

"Yeah, about Katie," I replied.

Kyle squirmed in his chair. "I was also wondering if I could ask you something."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Have you ever thought about dating someone who you never thought could ever be interested in you?"

I frowned. "Yeah, I guess. Katie's a pretty good example."

"I mean someone else. Someone who you know would never see you that way because you're not their type."

"Once again – Katie."

"Besides her!"

"Not that I can remember," I replied.

"Oh."

"Why? Do you have a crush on someone who you don't think will ever see you like that?"

Wordlessly, Kyle nodded.

"Who is it?"

"I can't tell you that. It's top secret. But they would never like me back. They're already with someone else, and I'm not their type anyway, so it doesn't really matter."

I nodded in sympathy. He must have been talking about Katie. It all fit – he refused to tell me, because I was supposedly 'dating' Katie. The girl he liked was already dating someone else. And if he wasn't her type, then he must mean that she thought of him as a brother, which he probably assumed was how Katie thought of him. Ahhhh, the wonderful world of teenage dating. So confusing. So extreme. Yet so simple.

"Well, I'm sure if you just give them time, and show them who you really are and how you really feel, everything will work out for the best."

"I'm not sure that's going to work this time though," Kyle said, staring blankly off in the distance.

"And _I'm_ sure it will. Just give it some time. Everything will work out, you'll see."

Kyle nodded, but he didn't look convinced. If only he knew just how far Katie was willing to go to get him to notice her, then maybe he would be more hopeful.

But I also realized that if he liked her, and if he decided to take my advice and let her know how he felt, then Katie would end up with him and our fake-dating scheme would be over, and then she wouldn't have any time for me, and I would end up a distant memory in a cloud of young love. What a time for me to figure things out. I always did have terrible timing, but this definitely topped it.

"So have you heard any more crap from Jett?" I inquired, just to break the awkward tension.

Kyle shook his head. "It's been pretty quiet on the Jett-front today."

"Speaking of the Jett-front…why are you dating Scarlett?"

"Why did you date Courtney?" he countered coolly.

I frowned. "I guess…I could say I thought she was interesting, but I would be lying." And goodness knows I had lied enough in the past couple of days for it to leave a stain on my permanent record. "I guess…She was hot. She was bold. She was good in bed."

Kyle nodded, eyes straight ahead.

"Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat my past relationships just so that you approve of me," I told him sharply. "What happened with Courtney happened, and there's nothing I can do about it. I told you the truth."

Kyle turned back to face me, eyes blazing. "How do I know you're not going to sleep with Katie and then dump her in the end?"

"Because I actually care about her. I couldn't live with myself if I did that to her."

Kyle nodded, once more staring blankly off into the distance.

"So why are you with Scarlett?"

"I don't know. She's…nice. You don't get a lot of that anymore."

"She's also got the brains of a Barbie."

"So? I like her. Why does it matter to you? You're with Katie," he retorted bitterly, and I blinked at the sudden attack. Whoa. What was his problem? Did he have a multiple-personality disorder?

"Kyle, I swear I won't hurt Katie!"

"This isn't about Katie!"

"Then what's it about?"

Kyle got up on his knees and glared ferociously at me. "You really don't know?"

"Know what?"

"I – I told you before, it doesn't matter!"

"Do you have a crush on Katie?"

Kyle stared at me, his jaw nearly hitting the ground. "I – what?"

"Do you have feelings for Katie?"

"Katie…"

"Yeah."

Both of us were now on our feet, standing a half foot away from each other, the expression on Kyle's face completely unreadable while I just gaped at him.

He suddenly pulled his phone out and glanced at the screen as if to check the time. "You know what, I really don't feel like discussing this with Katie's _boyfriend_, and I have an interview to go to, so I'll see you around, Diamond." And he marched off before I could grasp my mind on what had just happened. I had him so cornered…and he had escaped. How did that even happen?

_Well_, I thought in satisfaction as I plopped down on the lounge chair, _with the way he just dodged the question, I would say it's quite obvious that he does in fact like Katie. But that just means that I'm one step away from losing her_.

Immediately my mood darkened. Katie's and my plan was coming together nicely, but I was wishing that it could get messy again. Suddenly I wished that I had figured out my feelings for her a couple of days ago, because then maybe I would have been smart enough to make a move at the theater. Or what about in the park yesterday, or in her bedroom? I had had so many opportunities, and now it looked like I wouldn't be getting any more.

I am such an idiot, I thought miserably as I picked myself up from the chair and made my way towards

the lobby.

Jo and Camille had moved by this time, and only the Jennifers were in there, sipping smoothies and reading through some fashion rag.

I didn't even stop to wave or hit on one of them. Honestly, I wasn't in the mood. I felt like crying. I was both happy for Katie and sad for myself and the two emotions were not mixing together in the least.

When I finally got back to the apartment I immediately made a beeline straight for my bedroom and collapsed on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. How had things gotten so messed up in three days?

I was so tired of all the drama, and of all the heartache that had come to both Katie and me. And I couldn't solve the problem, not without some pain anyway, because there was no easy solution. The only thing that I knew for certain was that Katie would never look at me twice, so I couldn't tell her about my sudden revelation. But I could tell her about Kyle. I knew she would be beyond thrilled. She would be beyond ecstatic. And at least I could live with myself, knowing that I had made her smile. And maybe I would even get a hug out of it. That would make everything worth it. Well, to a point anyway.

There was a sudden knock on the front door, and grumbling, I got up to answer it. Courtney stood on the door, arms crossed. "You owe me an explanation about you and – you look terrible."

"Thanks, I'm fine, and you?"

"What the hell happened?"

"I don't want to go into it. What do you want?"

"Where's your lovely girlfriend?"

"I don't have a girlfriend."

"But – "

I needed to numb the pain. I couldn't handle being the good person. That's what had gotten me into so much trouble in the first place. And with that thought, I grabbed Courtney and pulled her into the apartment and kissed her as hard as I could.

She pulled away after several seconds and gave me a slow, sultry smile. "Your room?"

"Let's do it."

* * *

><p><strong>Katie's POV<strong>

My head hurt. And I was really wishing that Scarlett would shut up. The only good thing about her was that she wasn't a bitch. But she was beyond annoying. She wouldn't stop talking about makeup, hair,

clothes, TV shows, and Kyle.

I began to tune her out halfway through combing through the racks at Aeropostle, and didn't begin listening to her again until we were in Wet Seal.

"…And I mean, I just don't think he's into the relationship," she was saying when I was suddenly jolted back to reality.

"Kyle?"

"Yeah! I mean, can you believe it? He kisses me like he's thinking about someone else."

"He does?"

Ah. There it was. A speck of hope. Just what I needed to grasp onto.

"Yeah. And I just don't understand why! Is something wrong with me? Am I, like, horribly disfigured or something?"

"No, of course not! Courtney, you're gorgeous." Wow. Those words had just come out of my mouth. What was next? Was I going to start wearing pink ribbons in my hair and singing songs from the _Wizard of Oz_?

"Really? Oh Katie, you're so sweet! But what else could it be?"

"Maybe…Some guys only date girls for their looks and never bother to get to know them," I said slowly, thinking of James and Courtney. "Maybe…maybe it's the same with him."

Courtney sighed and leaned on one of the rack frames. "Well, you would know best. You're his best friend, right?"

"Yeah. I guess."

She shook her head. "You're so lucky, you know that?"

I raised my eyebrows at her. "I am?"

"Yeah. You've got a boyfriend who's in love with you."

"Oh, well, I wouldn't really go _that_ far."

"But it's so obvious! When you walk around, he follows you with his eyes. When he looks at you, his eyes get really soft. He treats you with respect. And the way he touches you…it's just so sweet! I wish I knew why Kyle didn't like him with you. You two are so perfect together. Maybe he thinks you guys are so in love that you'll just hop into bed with each other."

I choked out a laugh. "Uh, yeah, I don't think that's going to be happening anytime soon."

Scarlett shrugged. "I guess. I don't know though. Kyle just seems really aggressive towards James, you know?"

"Yeah, I do."

"I wish I could get him to put some of that energy that he wastes on hating James to better use – namely, me."

I had to laugh. "I'm sure he will. He's just…Look, one of the reasons why Kyle doesn't like James is because James is kind of well-known as a player."

"Really? Wow, he seems like he's really committed to you. I guess you're the girl he needed all along."

"James has slept around. He's probably had sex more times than I've pushed someone into the pool."

"Well, you would never know by the way he's acting now."

"No, I guess you wouldn't."

There was a lull in the conversation, and then…

"So how long have you liked James?"

"I don't know," I said honestly. "Years I guess. Since I was fourteen. Back then, he was a really sweet guy. God, I was so entranced by him."

"Obviously that hasn't changed," Scarlett noted with amusement.

I paused and took in what she had just said. "No, I guess it hasn't. He was so sweet back then. But he hit about nineteen he changed. It's only been since we got together that he's reverted back to his old self."

And that was the truth. I hadn't seen an ounce of the player I knew he was since Thursday morning. Something had changed. Something had had to. Could he like me? Was it even possible? Well, I was going to find out.

"Scarlett? I'll be honest, shopping isn't really my thing, and – "

"You want to get home to see your man? I know, it's cool, I understand."

"Thanks Scarlett."

* * *

><p><strong>James's POV<strong>

I couldn't do it. It just wouldn't happen. It just wasn't possible. It just…There was

some…ahem…mechanical problems. And when I finally did manage to get turned on a little, I just ended up murmuring Katie's name.

Needless to say, Courtney wasn't too happy.

I watched as she got dressed, smoke practically coming out of her ears.

"I knew there was something going on between you two!" she fumed as she pulled on her jeans. "And this proves it!"

"There's nothing – "

"Then explain to me why you were kissing me and you groaned _Katie_ against my lips? Explain _that_!"

"I – I can't."

"You two are dating. You just happened to get into a fight and you – "

"WE'RE NOT DATING!"

Courtney pulled her tank top on and rolled her eyes. "Oh puh-leeze. Save it for someone who'll actually buy your lame stories."

"It's not just a story!" I leapt off of the bed. "Courtney, I'm not lying!"

"You two are dating, and I'm going to prove it. No one disses me and gets away with it! Oh, and wait until I tell everyone that you have some sort of erectile dis-function. Won't that just be the sprinkles in the yogurt?"

"Courtney – "

"You and your little girlfriend are going down, and I'm going to be there to see it. You'll see me in the distance, laughing my head off. Just you wait!"

And she slammed out of my room, with me following behind her in just my boxers, trying to reason with her.

But before Courtney could even reach the front door, it opened and Katie stepped in. Her mouth formed an O-shape and her eyes widened.

"Oh…um…sorry…I guess I'll just – "

"Don't bother leaving – I'm the one who came out the worst in this," Courtney snapped and she brushed by Katie, making sure to slam her shoulder into Katie's.

She grasped the door handle, but before she could exit, she turned around and said to Katie, "Oh, and just to let you know, your boyfriend has some sort of erectile dis-function. Just thought I'd let you know, incase you guys were planning anything good anytime soon."

"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" Katie screamed at Courtney as she stormed out of the apartment.

Katie threw the door shut and turned around to face me, a look of rage flaming on her face.

"You son of a bitch! You mother-fucking son of a bitch! You'll never learn, will you? You'll never change! I can't believe I thought you were finally getting past your womanizing power rush. You're still the same jerk you were last week, and I was too stupid to realize it. You'll always be the same manipulating, sex-crazed, fickled bastard, and you'll never change!"

And with those words, she turned and slammed into her bedroom, making sure to bang the door shut behind her.

God.

I walked back into my room to get dressed again, completely shocked at what had just happened.

I couldn't believe I had done that. What had I been thinking? I had used one girl to help numb my feelings for another girl, and now both girls were ready to gut me, not that I blamed them.

I pulled on my discarded pair of jeans and t-shirt and combed out my hair before spraying Cuda manspray all over my body, as if to mask Courtney's smell on me. Maybe if I didn't look or smell like I had almost had sex with my psycho ex-girlfriend, Katie wouldn't injure me too badly.

With a deep sigh, I walked out of my room and knocked on Katie's door.

"GO AWAY, JAMES!"

"KATIE!" I called through the door. "Come on, we need to talk."

"HOW COULD YOU? HOW COULD YOU?"

"Whoa, you're acting like I actually cheated on you or something."

That might've been the wrong thing to say.

Katie did in fact open the door but the look of rage on her face was more terrifying than Bitters in a swimsuit.

"You – you – you – "

Uh oh. She was stuttering. Never a good sign.

"I trusted you!" she finally spat out. "I thought you had changed! You said you were done with Courtney! You acted like you actually _wanted_ to change! But was that all just a lie? Was it just a huge scam for something else?"

"No!" I cried. "Katie, I swear, I never lied to you. And I swear, I have changed. I just…slipped up. For a second I converted back to who I was…well…a week ago…Hey, that's really not fair!" I protested as realization passed over me. "You can't expect me to just change like _that_!" I snapped my fingers in her face to emphasize the point. "And why am I even apologizing to you? Why am I even explaining myself to you? Why does it matter to you? You're hopelessly in love with Kyle. God Katie, you're such a drama queen."

Oh my God. I did not just say that.

All at once I wished desperately, harder than I had ever wished for anything, for a time machine, so that I could go back to an hour ago and change everything.

"I – Katie, I swear I didn't – I just – "

But Katie just looked at me, her huge, beautiful brown eyes filled with an impenetrable hurt, and I knew I had wounded her beyond all apologies.

"You were supposed to be one of the good guys," she said quietly. "You were supposed to be one of the guys who grows up and learns to treat girls with respect. But that obviously hasn't happened. So I'm sorry if I expect too much from you, or overreact. It turns out it was just my hope talking. I promise, I won't expect anything good from you anymore. Why should I? You always disappoint me."

And with those words, she closed the door in my face.

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><p><strong><em>Okay. Wow. Lots of drama and angst. I'm so sorry about the JamesCourtney thing, but it just seemed to kind of fit in there and...But at least James figured out his feelings for Katie! *Smiles hopefully at readers*. This story is definitely a lot more drama-filled then what I had originally thought it would be. But considering the way I've written both Katie and James...So I like this chapter, but I feel kind of horrible about what happened in the last couple of scenes, even though I think it's just going to add to the plot._**

**_On a slightly lighter note, there's a couple of characters in here that are keeping secrets - kind of. Can you guess which ones? And any ideas what their secrets might be? And I'd love to hear your opinions on all the drama (and humor!) that unfolded in this chapter._**

**_I'm going to do my best to make sure the next chapter isn't all angsty, but considering what's happened with the last three chapters, it's probably not a good idea for me to promise anything._**

**_Anyway, the review button could really use some love, it needs it's daily clicking to feel happy and useful :) And I love reading (and replying!) to everyone's reviews, because they always make me smile :)_**

**_So I'll shut up now and actually post this. :)_**

**_P.S For those of you out there who listen to Simple Plan but haven't heard their new stuff yet, I got their new album yesterday! AND IT'S FREAKING AMAZING! I just thought I'd get that out there =)_**


	8. Chapter 8 Falling Through the Ceiling

_**Yay! I got Chapter 8 up! Annnnndddd...it's a long one - 7,290 words without all my added A/N stuff.**_

_**Disclaimer: Yes, I'm using a disclaimer. This means that I don't own Big Time Rush. Got it? Good. Oh, and I also don't own Sugarcult or their song "Pretty Girl (The Way)" :)**_

_**And to my somewhat anonymous reviewers...**_

_**OMG: Wow, I'm touched! Did it really? Thank you! I'm so flattered :) And thank you, I'm so glad that you liked the last chapter!**_

_**21Soccer-Diva21: Thank you for your review! And I think you were the first person to suggest that about Kyle...;)**_

_**BriannieBee64: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it and that it's keeping you on your toes!**_

_**My anonymous reviewer: Thank you very much for your review! I hope you enjoy this chapter :)**_

_**Okay, hopefully I've answered everyone's reviews, but if I haven't, I'm really sorry! I was having trouble with my internet yesterday, so things got a tiny bit confusing. But I appreciate every review, story alert, or story favorite notice that I get, just to let you know.**_

_**And THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or alerted my story! I'm so happy that people are enjoying this story.**_

_**Warnings: Language and sexual references**_

_**Wow, I can't believe how many people said that Kyle likes James and that Jo's pregnant. I'm not saying if you guys are right or not, but whoa! I started cracking up when the reviews saying Kyle likes James and not Katie came rolling in, because either way, it's pretty funny.**_

_**So anyway, enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8 – Falling Through the Ceiling<strong>

**Katie's POV**

I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't. How could he? How could he say those things to me, or act the way he did? How could he sleep with Courtney – or almost sleep with her anyway, because hadn't Courtney said something about erectile dysfunction?

I snickered to myself. It would serve James right. Hopefully he was having – trouble – out of guilt.

I stared at myself in the mirror, biting down on my lip. I just couldn't understand what had happened! Sure, Courtney was pretty, but how many times in the past forty-eight hours had James said how much he just wanted her out of his life? So what the hell had made him think it would be a good idea to have sex with her? Was it just for old times' sake? Did she seduce him? Did he come onto her first?

There were so many questions running like wild fire through my mind. I wanted them answered, and yet at the same time, I didn't want to know. I didn't want to think about the sight that had awaited me when I had walked into the apartment, ready to grab James and tell him that I like him: Courtney stalking out of James's bedroom with him following behind her, half-naked, stuttering out her name.

And then there was what he had said to me. Was I really a drama queen? Did he really see me that way? It shouldn't have hurt as much as it did, but with everything crumbling to pieces in the space of about thirty seconds, it nearly knocked me off my feet.

I guess Scarlett was wrong. If James could go so far as to almost sleep with his psycho ex-girlfriend, then he definitely didn't have feelings for me. He just wanted to get laid. That was all he had ever wanted, and I had been beyond stupid to believe that he might have cared about something else.

I really should just be glad that James had never tried to sleep with me. I really should. But I couldn't help wondering if it was because I wasn't pretty enough for him.

I mentally shook myself. No, that wasn't it. Hadn't he said that I was beautiful, inside and out? As stupid as it was after everything that had just happened, I found myself clinging to that compliment, needing to believe it, needing to believe that he really wasn't the guy he had just acted like.

But why hadn't he tried to sleep with me? Wow. Why was I even wondering that in the first place? Did it even matter? And it wasn't like I wanted to have sex with him, not after what he had just said and done. No, I was just simply curious. I just wanted to know what went through his mind. That was it. And I was about to find out.

Or, I would as soon as I could gather up the courage to leave my room. I didn't know if I could face James again.

The rest of the day crept by.

I stayed in my room, texting people, playing games on Facebook, and listening to my iPod.

When Mom came into my room to ask what I wanted for dinner, I suggested we go out to eat and let the guys fend for themselves.

Normally, Mom would have protested, saying that they should be included in our dinner plans, but she seemed to realize that I needed some time away from the guys. She suggested we go to my favorite restaurant and left dinosaur chicken nuggets and tater-tots out for the guys.

She didn't ask questions until we were settled down in the restaurant and eating.

"I love this song," I commented as Sugarcult's song _Pretty Girl (The Way)_ came on over the speakers. "I've been listening to it all day."

Too much information apparently.

Mom cocked her head to the side. "Why? What's happened?"

I froze with my fork halfway to my mouth. "What do you mean?"

Mom let out a deep sigh. "Katie, you play songs on repeat when something has happened and you feel like the song describes it. I've heard this song on the radio. So what part of the song has to do with you and your life? Which boy has you confused now?"

Whoa. She's good.

"Mom – "

"It's my guess that it's James. You've always harbored a crush on him. You didn't want to be around the boys tonight, and Kendall said that he hasn't seen you since breakfast, so you've been in your room for quite awhile, meaning that something happened with him earlier. What's going on?"

I paused, focusing on the lyrics:

_And that's what you get for falling again_

_You can never get him out of your head_

_And that's what you get for falling again_

_You can never get him out of your head_

_It's the way that he makes you feel_

_It's the way that he kisses you_

_It's the way that he makes you fall in love_

It fit. I don't know how, but it fit.

"James and I have been hanging out a lot the past few days," I explained to Mom. "You know that we

went to see a movie on Thursday night, and then he…helped me through a rough spot yesterday. He kept on saying that he wants nothing to do with Courtney, but today I came into the apartment to find him running out of his room after Courtney, half-naked, with her sprouting something about erectile dysfunction."

Mom paused. "I want to laugh at the last part about his…ummm…problems, although I really shouldn't. He must be going crazy over it."

I leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for her to laugh and get it over with. She didn't.

"I'm sorry, honey," she apologized, reaching across the table to pat my hand. "I'm sorry that he hurt you."

"He tried to make excuses to me, but then he decided it wasn't worth it. He called me a drama queen. God! I'm sure he meant to call me a bitch."

"Katherine Knight! Do not use language like that!" Mom cried.

"Sorry," I muttered.

Mom sighed. "Sweetie, James is, at heart, a nice, well-meaning boy, but on the surface he's dangerous. If you can get past skin deep you'll find someone who generally cares about people and wants to find the right girl to love, but if you can't…Katie, you're the only girl who's been able to get past his outer shell in years. His reaction to Jett's accusations at you is proof of that. If he didn't care about you, he never would have gotten into a fight with him. He never would have risked The Face. My guess is that it scared him enough to send him running back to little Miss Courtney Hill."

"I went shopping with Scarlett today," I muttered.

"Scarlett…?"

"Jett Stetson's younger sister and Kyle's girlfriend. She's really nice though, if a bit of an airhead. She was really convinced that James likes me. But he obviously doesn't. She got me convinced though, and that's why I went back to the apartment, to find out for real."

Mom pressed her lips together and her eyes widened as she realized the full extent of the damage.

"Oh no…"

"Oh yes."

"You both had terrible timing. That's all I can think to say. But I'm so sorry."

I closed my eyes against the tears that were gathering behind my eyelids.

_Pretty girl is suffering while he confesses everything_

_Pretty soon she'll figure out_

_You can never get him out of your head_

_It's the way that he makes you cry_

_It's the way that he's in your mind_

_It's the way that he makes you fall in love_

Those were my favorite lyrics of the song, because I could relate to them so well.

_It's the way that he makes you feel_

_It's the way that he kisses you_

_It's the way that he makes you fall in love_

"He's bad for me," I said softly. "And I know this. But I can't…He's just…It's like I can't get him out of my system."

"And Kyle? Where does he fit into all of this?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. I still like him, but…Today really opened my eyes. For the worst I guess."

"Some guys are bad for the girls who fall for them. And sometimes you can't get them out of your system. But sometimes…Sometimes those guys really aren't as horrible as you might make them out to be."

"You're awfully determined to believe he's a much better person than the way he's acted."

"Katie, sweetie, I've known him since he was four. He's always been a sweet boy. But he's twenty-one and has a degree of freedom and has some stuff that _he_ needs to get out of his system. But I know what he's really like. He defended you at the movies. You said he helped you with something?"

"Oh…yeah…I just…it was PMS I guess. I just kind of started crying on him."

"And he comforted you?"

"He held me until I calmed down."

Mom smiled. "He cares about you baby. And maybe Scarlett's right. Maybe he does have feelings for you." She winced. "But do me a favor."

"What?"

"If you two do end up together, don't have sex with him until you're at least eighteen, have birth control, and are completely ready."

I blew out a huffy breath. "Mom, he doesn't like me!"

"Ask him about the erectile dysfunction that Courtney accused him of. Ask him what his reasoning was behind sleeping with Courtney. You might be surprised by the answers."

"Are you seriously telling me that you want me to get together with James Diamond?"

"I'm telling you to do what makes you happy. I don't like the fact that there's a four-year age difference, that he can legally go into a bar and order a beer, and that you're only seventeen, but I trust you, and even him."

"It'll never happen. He doesn't want me like that."

"And why wouldn't he?"

"Because I'm not tall and curvy and anorexic and blond!"

"So he won't like you because you're petite, brunette, and have a pretty face?"

"Yes!"

"And has he told you this?"

"No," I admitted with a grumble. "He – he said I'm beautiful inside and out."

Mom grinned triumphantly. "Once again Katie, wait to sleep with him. Check please!"

That conversation was beyond disturbing. I couldn't believe that my mother was telling me to go ahead and have sex with James once I turned eighteen! She must be really desperate for a grandkid, and she's not picky about whether her son or daughter has the child first.

I was still mulling over our talk when I went to bed that night, but before long, my thoughts drifted off to James. To the James that I remembered him being when I was fourteen, all the way to the James he was now. Needless to say, it took me quite awhile to get to sleep that night.

The next morning came all too soon.

If James and I were talking, it would have been the fourth day of the fake-dating scheme, but because we weren't, the fake-dating scheme barely even crossed my mind.

We didn't talk that entire day, and by the time I got up on Monday morning, the guys had already left for the studio.

The same was true for the rest of the week. We barely even looked at each other, and never even said "good morning". I was bored out of my mind, not to mention lonely and miserable. I was avoiding Kyle and Scarlett because I didn't want them to know that James and I weren't talking, and I didn't want to have to tell them that we broke up, or that it had all been fake.

Because James was always with my brother, Logan, and Carlos, I began to stay away from them as well. It just wasn't worth having to sit in the same room with them. The half hour that dinner took up was torture enough, and I had no intention of prolonging my suffering.

Whenever I would pass by James for something, usually when I was trying to get to the bathroom or trying to sneak in the kitchen for a bite of ice cream, James would open his mouth as if to say something, but I would completely ignore him and just walk right by him.

* * *

><p><strong>James's POV<strong>

Katie wouldn't even look at me. I only saw her at dinner, and the entire time she was focused on her food. I spent most of the day with Kendall, Logan, and Carlos at the studio so I was never at the apartment. But it seemed like when we _were_ there, she never came out of her room. And I couldn't help it. I missed her. I knew I had screwed up big time, but she wouldn't even give me the chance to try to make amends. Not that I knew how, but I would try to if I had the chance. But that didn't look like it was going to be happening anytime soon.

"Okay," Kendall said, crossing his arms as he turned to face me. We were in the Palmwoods parking lot after an eight-hour recording session on Friday evening, and all I wanted was to get into the apartment and collapse on my bed, while fantasizing about ways to get Katie to forgive me. And then, once she had forgiven me, to get her to realize that she wanted me instead of Kyle.

"Okay what?" I asked in annoyance, spinning around on the heel of my sneaker to look at him.

"What did you do to Katie?"

"I – what? What makes you think I did anything to her?"

"Because she won't come out of her room. She won't spend any time with us. She won't even _look_ at you, and I can't remember the last time she said two words to you. James, you did something, and you need to apologize – "

"I already did and she won't forgive me! And I fucked it up, Kendall, I fucked up big time! And she won't even hear me out."

"Well, I don't care what you have to do, just _make things right with her_! I'd kind of like to see my sister once in awhile."

"Fine!" I agreed, throwing my hands up in the air. "I'll stalk her until she has to get a restraining order against me. In fact, I'll go start right now."

That would have worked, except that halfway through the lobby, I was intercepted by Courtney.

Over the last few days there had been a few snickers and whispers aimed in my direction, and I could have sworn I had heard the words _erectile dysfunction_ at least twice, but I hadn't seen the instigator behind the laughs and mutters. But apparently Friday was the day she decided to come out from her cave.

She smiled coldly at me. "So James, how have your _problems_ been?"

I blushed as the lobby erupted into chortles. Of course she would decide to humiliate me in front of an audience.

"My _problems_ have gone away, thank you very much. I guess it just had to do with who I was trying to have sex with."

Kendall let out a gasp. "You had sex with her again?"

"He tried to," Courtney said dismissively. "But a certain part of his anatomy just wouldn't work right."

"You mean the way your _brain_ doesn't work right?" came a familiar female voice from behind me. I spun around and found Katie marching inside the lobby from the parking lot. Mrs. Knight was trailing behind her, carrying an armful of shopping bags, but after a moment's pause, she quickly ducked into an elevator. It was probably for the best. Things were about to be said. Ugly, nasty, terrible things that just weren't appropriate for parents' ears.

Courtney's smile turned from cold to below freezing. "Well, well, well, if it isn't James Diamond's little girlfriend! Have you been helping him with his problem?"

"I'm not James's girlfriend, and he never needed any help! I thought he already made it perfectly clear that it was you, not him, who was restricting the blood flow."

I winced. That was a little too graphic and technical for my imagination, but it was a fairly decent comeback, so I wasn't going to complain. I also realized with a jolt of shock and happiness that Katie was standing up for me. After what I had said to her, after the stupid mistake I had made, she was helping me out. It was proof that she was a much better person than I could ever be.

Courtney rolled her eyes. "Oh puh-leeze. I bet if I set up cameras in your bedroom, I would have a fantastic view of you two doing – "

"You are such a bitch!" Kendall broke in. "You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Oh really? Then why was it Katie's name that James moaned?"

Katie's jaw dropped and my face immediately heated up even more.

"I can explain that!" I cried. "I just – it's really personal – not something I really want to say in front of everyone – uh, Kendall, you look kinda pissed – "

Kendall stalked towards me, hands clenched into fists, a look of rage on his face.

"You have the hots for my sister," he proclaimed in a dangerously soft voice. "You – "

I began to back up towards the stairs. "No, I swear I don't! I just – I wasn't concentrating – I was thinking of something that Katie had said to me – "

As I said that, I watched Katie. I could have sworn that her face fell as I said that. Wait…she couldn't like me, could she? No, that was impossible, she liked Kyle. Speaking of whom…

Kyle and Scarlett were leaning against the check-in counter, watching as the scene unfolded with eyes wide. I had a feeling Katie and I might have some explaining to do, assuming that I got out of this situation alive.

"I know how you work, Diamond," Kendall hissed at me. "I know how you think. And I'm betting that you've been mentally undressing my baby sister with your eyes! And who knows – maybe the rumors really are true! You could probably convince her to have sex with you if you really tried."

"Not I couldn't! And I wouldn't anyway!"

Katie stepped forward, a look of hurt on her face.

"Really, Kendall, is that what you think of me? Do you honestly think I would sleep with James? Do you think I would let him manipulate me into having sex in a movie theater bathroom? Seriously?"

"Yeah," I added. "You don't have to trust me, but believe in your sister. You know she would never do anything with me. She doesn't like me that way, and she never will."

"You are such a jackass!" Kendall roared. "Did you honestly not know that she had a crush on you when she was fourteen?"

"_Kendall_!" Katie squealed, clapping her hands over her mouth in horror while I just froze. Katie used to have a crush on me? For real? So I had a chance with her after all. YES!

"Uh, nope, I didn't."

"Really?" his voice was skeptical. "How about that? And yet, suddenly there are all these rumors about you two going around."

"Jett made them up, _hel-lo_," Katie pointed out.

"Yeah, what do you expect when Jett Stetson's around?" I tried for a joking tone.

"But wouldn't you love for them to be true?" Courtney asked, a smirk on her face.

Kendall glanced at her and then turned back to me. "Yeah James, Katie. Wouldn't you love it if those rumors were true? I mean, wasn't _A Fairy Love Story_ pretty boring? You must have had to do _something_ to pass the time."

"Look," I began, but suddenly Jett stepped forward from where he had been lurking in a corner.

"Jett!" Jo cried, running after him.

We were so screwed.

"They weren't at _A Fairy Love Story_, Kendork," Jett proclaimed, smirking. "They were at _Kiss and Tell 3_. And if you ask me, they looked pretty chummy. They gave me and Jo a run for the _most turned-on _couple there."

Wow. There's a lie if I ever heard one.

Kendall looked around at Jo who was cringing.

"Is this true?"

"I wasn't there on a date with Jett, I swear!"

"I meant about Katie and James. Were they there? Did they look close?"

Jo, still looking like she was trying not to cry, nodded wordlessly.

"She had her head on his shoulder!" Jett burst out.

"Kendall, it's not what you think – " I began but quickly fell silent as he began to come at me, slowly and steadily.

I looked at Katie, and she looked back at me, nodding her head.

"RUN!" I yelped and we took off, straight for the stairs.

We pounded up the steps to the second floor with Kendall yelling at us, "I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU JAMES! AND KATIE, I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T LEAVE THE APARTMENT UNTIL YOU'RE THIRTY!"

And Courtney screaming, "I KNEW THEY WERE DATING! I KNEW IT, AND THIS PROVES IT!"

Katie turned around just long enough to shriek, "WE'RE NOT DATING!"

"YEAH!" I called. "THIS HAS ALL BEEN ONE HUGE MISUNDERSTANDING!"

We managed to make it up the stairs to the second floor, but Kendall's footsteps echoed on the steps with Courtney's high heels making tapping sounds on the ground.

Katie turned to me, looking alarmed. "They're closing in on us."

"Through the air dart!"

There was an air dart a little ways down the hall. I led her to it and managed to yank it open.

"Here," I boosted her up, hauled myself up into the tunnel, and shut the trapdoor right before Kendall and Courtney got to the next floor.

Katie leaned against the wall. "Now what? We can't stay up here for the rest of our lives."

"I don't know. Stay in an air dart or face your pissed off older brother and my psycho ex-girlfriend. Which one would you choose?"

Katie grimaced. "Good point."

From down below, we heard shouting. "WHERE ARE THEY?" That sounded a lot like Courtney.

"HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW?" Kendall yelled back.

I looked over at Katie. "Come on, we've gotta get moving. Kendall, Logan, Carlos, you, and me have all

made use of the air dart on more than one occasion. Kendall's going to figure out we're up here sooner or later."

Katie nodded. "Then let's get going."

We began to crawl along, with me behind her. This meant that I had an extremely good view of her…ummm…rear, which didn't help my already turbulent feelings. But I couldn't bring myself to say anything to her about the view she was giving me, or to suggest that we switch places. I didn't need her to ask any questions or to slap me or push me out at the next opening we came to.

"You know," Katie began, "I was kind of wondering…I mean, that is to say…What was up with your erectile dysfunction?"

I groaned. "Not you too!"

"Well, I'm kind of wondering…"

"Look, Courtney was the problem, not me."

"I'm not saying you actually have any problems with your…umm…"

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm just wondering why you had so much trouble getting an…ummm…"

I groaned again. This was absolutely unbelievable! I was stuck in an air dart with the girl I can't have but want, while her older brother and my psycho ex-girlfriend chase after us because they think we had sex in a movie theater. Oh, and now the girl I can't have but I want wants to know about the issues I had in bed with my psycho ex-girlfriend. Things just keep on getting better and better.

"It happens," I told her. "I was distracted. The same was true when I moaned your name – which, I would just like to clear up that I didn't actually moan out your name. It just sounded like a moan to Courtney because she's delusional and thinks that anything that isn't a scream is a moan."

Katie sniggered. "That's good to know, James, really good to know."

"So, uh, you used to have a crush on me?"

"I have no idea how Kendall found out about that," she muttered. "I'm going to kill him! I don't know how yet, but when I do, you can be sure that it'll be very slow and painful."

"So you did?"

"What? Oh…ummm…I was fourteen! You were cute and sweet and the only guy who treated me like a girl, rather than like one of the guys or like Kendall's little sister."

"But what about Kyle?"

"Can't I like two guys at once?"

"I suppose…"

"Good. Thank you for your permission."

"That's not – you're the one who phrased it like that – whatever."

It wasn't exactly the most comfortable form of transportation. Within minutes my knees ached and my back hurt, and eventually I suggested that we rest. We had made a couple of turns and we would hear Kendall if he was coming for us – there was a bit of an echo in the air dart.

Katie rested her head against the wall, brushing back her long hair.

I sat down next to her, stretching my legs out and pressing my feet against the wall, crossing my ankles.

Katie glanced over at me. "I need to ask you something."

"Okay, shoot."

"Why did you try to have sex with Courtney?"

I had definitely not been expecting that one.

"I – would you believe I was drunk?"

"No."

"How about high?"

"Still no."

"I hit my head."

"That one I can almost believe."

"Oh good."

"But you're still not telling me the truth."

"Why do you even want to know?"

She looked away from me. "I don't know," she said softly. "I don't want to, not really…but at the same time I kind of do. I want to know what would make you go back to her."

I turned my head and met Katie's eyes. I could tell her how I felt about her. I could tell her and let her do with me as she may. But after spending so long denying it, and then trying to hide it, I just couldn't give in.

"I don't know. I guess maybe I went back for the rush. I don't know."

There was a pause, and then…

"But I don't want to go to the meeting!" It was Jett's voice, and it was coming from the vent in-between Katie and me.

"But you need to," Scarlett protested. "I mean, how else are you going to accept this?"

"I don't! I'll be just fine, thank you very much."

"Jett…Come on, it's for your own good."

"But what if someone sees me?" he whined.

"So we'll put a wig and sunglasses on you. Jett, you know how this sort of thing goes. The producers of _New Town High_ are worried that you're going to do something stupid. I mean, more stupid than your normal activities."

"The only stupid thing I've done since they found out was not deny it adamantly."

"Jett, you need to accept that you have issues."

"I don't have issues!"

"Yes you do. The show's getting upset because one of these times a paparazzo is going to snap a picture of you coming out of one of those clubs with a pole dancer on your arm."

Katie and I stared at each other. Wow…this was stellar…You couldn't get this kind of dirt on someone if you paid for it.

"And I know that rumor you spread about James and Katie actually happened to you and that girl, Courtney Hills. James's ex-girlfriend."

And things kept getting better and better.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jett replied smoothly.

"Yes you do! You two totally had sex in some public restroom. I just don't know where."

"She's a sex-crazed maniac and I've got hormones. Why are you acting like it's such a big deal?"

"Because you're sex-crazed too! A little too much, if you ask me. I mean, Jo found porn on your phone. How do you explain that?"

"I completely admit to it."

"So you need to go to the Sex-Addict Anonymous meeting because otherwise you'll never get past this."

"You keep talking about it like it's a problem!"

"Because it is! Not only are you an idol for so many teenagers, it's not healthy. Do you know how many STDs you could have by this point?"

"I use condoms."

"That's too much information. Anyway, that's the entire reason why Mom and Dad suggested I come out here, to look after you. I think they were a tiny bit disturbed when the producers called to tell them that if they found you naked with one of the Extras again, you were going to be kicked off the show."

"Snitches," Jett muttered. "I'm an adult, and they should really mind their own business."

"They were trying to help you, more than they've ever tried to help anyone. For some reason, you're their favorite. Why else do you think they asked Jo to go to a movie with you, try to get some good, clean, old-fashioned fun in your life? And of course, since she's so ridiculously nice, she let you choose the movie, and…"

"Hey, I personally thought it was a step up from my usual selection."

"And those comments you made to Katie Knight…Un-freaking-believable! I can't believe you would honestly get off on something like that. And with a girl who's my age!"

"What? She's hot. And if she likes it rough, all the better – "

"I wonder what the easiest way to get through the vent is," I muttered under my breath. How dare Jett talk about Katie like that! I was going to strangle him, and then revive him so that I could kill him again.

"Maybe if you concentrate really hard, you'll shrink down to mouse size," Katie suggested sarcastically.

"Did you not hear what he just said about you?"

"Shhhh, shut up, he's talking again."

" – I wonder if she wears a leather corset to bed. Think she has a pair of fuzzy handcuffs? And James Diamond…Wow. I'm guessing he's pretty submissive in bed. Although maybe he goes to her because otherwise he can't – with his erectile dysfunction and all – "

"I'm getting out of here so that I can find him and – "

"He's not worth murdering," Katie said, sounding bored. "You'll just end up with a murder rap on your permanent record and that won't look too good – Griffin might get a little upset."

"But the way he's talking about you – about both of us! Aren't you bothered by it?"

"Of course. But he's Jett Stetson and apparently he's addicted to sex. Plus he had sex with you psycho ex-girlfriend in a fucking bathroom. He's not exactly the definition of classy."

"No," I agreed. "He's not."

"JETT STETSON, IF YOU DON'T GO TO THAT MEETING, I'M GOING TO TELL MOM ABOUT YOUR LITTLE ESCAPADE WITH COURTNEY!"

"Fine," Jett grumbled. "I'll go. But I'm wearing that disguise."

They fell silent and a few seconds later there was the sound of a door slamming shut.

"Wow, we've got enough dirt on Jett to last us a lifetime," Katie said with a smirk. "And we have so much to repay him for."

I sniggered. "Ah, so much valuable information. The only question is, do we use it or keep it quiet?"

"Duh! We use it. We blackmail Jett with it."

I nodded. "I like your thinking."

"Come on, let's see what other information we can drag up on people," Katie cackled. "Maybe I can find something on Kyle. This is going to be fun!"

"So if we're by Jett's apartment, then Kyle's should be…straight and then to the right. I think."

"Lead the way James Diamond."

I crawled over her legs and began to move forward in the general direction that I was sure Kyle's apartment was. I could hear Katie behind me, and I couldn't help but wonder if she was checking me out. It wasn't the most appropriate thought at the moment, but I can't sugarcoat my thoughts, and I certainly can't sanitize them! If I could, then I probably wouldn't even have groaned out Katie's name when I was with Courtney.

At the next turn we came to, we went to the right and sure enough, we soon heard Kyle's voice.

"I don't know, Curtis!" Kyle cried. "How the hell am I supposed to feel, knowing that I have a crush on someone who I can't have?"

Kyle's older brother, Curtis, lives in San Francisco, so Kyle must have been talking to him on the phone.

There was a pause, and then Kyle said, "Stop trying to guess who it is, you'll never be able to."

Ah. So he hadn't told Curtis who he was crushing on. Very in-ter-es-ting.

"Stop it!" Kyle snapped. "It's not who you think it is…Yes, I'm dating Scarlett Stetson…Of course not, I'd never cheat on her."

Another pause…

"Believe me, if I told you, you would fall over from a heart attack."

"No…" the words got muffled at that point, as if he had walked out of the room. "…Already dating someone else…Not…type…They'll never be interested in me…Absolutely gorgeous…"

Yep, that sounded like it could be Katie.

Katie was wiggling around in her seat beside me with excitement, but she didn't say anything.

"Fine, if it'll get you to shut up, I'll tell you who it is!" There was silence for about thirty seconds and then Kyle's voice came in a little bit more clearly…

"Yeah, it's Katie. I know, I know, can you believe it? I mean, what are the chances that _she_ would go out with James Diamond? Yeah, I thought he was gay too – "

Katie burst out laughing.

"Shut up!" I hissed at her, but as usual, she ignored me. Instead she just laughed even harder.

"Now that's hilarious!" she gasped.

I decided to just pretend that she wasn't nearly screaming with laughter and went back to listening in on Kyle's conversation.

"Yeah, I know, I'll never have a chance now. James and Katie are so entranced with each other, it's almost sickening. And there's these rumors going around about them, something about them having sex in a movie theater bathroom, but I doubt it's true. I could almost believe if of James, but not of Katie, she's not the type."

Katie had stopped laughing long enough to hear the end of his statement, and she nodded in satisfaction.

"I guess I'll just have to hope they break up. That's my best chance. And hey, thanks for being so cool about me being, you know, in love with, well, you know. Oh, someone's at the door, I'll talk to you later."

"He's in love with me!" Katie squealed, while my heart sank. He was in love with her. And now I would never have the chance to let her know how I felt. No, that wasn't the truth. I had some time now. I just had to gather up my courage…

"Hey Kendall, Logan, Carlos, what's up?"

Oh crap.

"Is Katie and James here?" Kendall demanded.

"Nope, sorry, I haven't seen them."

"Are you sure? Because you're Katie's best friend and you'd be the first person she'd turn to if she was on the run."

"Kendall, she's not on the run," Logan said with a sigh. "She's just trying to make sure that you don't kill James."

"And why shouldn't I kill him?" Kendall roared. "He took her to see _Kiss and Tell 3_!"

"And risked The Face to defend her against Jett," Carlos reminded him. "I'd say you can trust him."

"He hurt her. I don't know how, but he hurt her."

"And apparently they've patched things up," Logan said, sounding annoyed. "Kendall, when you've calmed down, I'll text them to let them know it's safe to come back. They're just hiding out so that James will survive the night."

"And what do you think they're doing? They're probably having…I mean…they're probably…doing…stuff…" he finished lamely.

"James wouldn't touch Katie," Carlos piped up. "She's the one girl he actually respects. Trust me dude, you don't have anything to worry about."

"I'm not convinced."

"Oh, check it out, someone else is here," Kyle said as if he was trying to change the subject and doing a terrible job. There was the sound of someone opening up a door.

"Jo!" Kendall sounded shocked. "What're you doing here?"

"I followed you here," she said simply. "I wanted to make sure you didn't overreact and do something stupid, like try to shake down your little sister's best friend."

"I haven't laid a hand on Kyle."

"Well, I never know with you."

"Shouldn't you be out with your new boyfriend or something?"

"He's not my boyfriend! Kendall, I swear, I'm not attracted to Jett! He's a sadistic, pig-headed, sex-obsessed jackass who I just happen to work with."

"Then why did you break up with me? I thought it was to date Jett."

"No! Of course not!"

"Then why – ?"

"Maybe we should talk after you find your sister and best friend."

"Jo's right," Logan agreed. "We really should leave."

"Not until I've searched through every room in this place!" Kendall declared.

"Isn't that going a little overboard?" Jo suggested wryly.

"Not when it comes to those two! Did you know she was sitting on his lap last week?"

"Because he was trying to beat me at checkers, and she was trying to help, but she needed a place to sit. It really wasn't a big deal," Logan explained calmly.

Kendall snorted. "Yeah, likely story. All right Kyle, show me your apartment."

"Um…okay…but you're not going to find them here."

It sounded as if they had moved away from wherever the vent was, and Katie and I both relaxed.

"Come on," she said, "let's get going."

We began moving again, her in front this time, leading us up to the next floor. I'm not sure how long we were going, but after a little while, my knees were killing me. Great. I'm probably going to end up with bad knees at the ripe old age of twenty-one. That's not going to be too good for my dancing career.

"Katie, can we stop for a moment?" I asked.

She paused. "Sure."

This area was a little cooler than some of the previous places had been, which I thought was odd because heat generally rises, but I didn't think about it too much.

We plopped down on the ground without moving to the side, we just stayed in the middle of the narrow corridor.

"Listen," I began, "about what I said and did last week…I really am sorry. I didn't mean to insult you or hurt you, I was just ashamed of myself and I took it out on you."

Katie smiled. "It's okay, James, I forgive you."

"But you really shouldn't," I protested. "I was way out of line and I should never have taken my own problems out on you."

"We all make mistakes," she said simply.

"But my mistake was too big. I never should have been with Courtney in the first place, I was just upset and I needed some comfort."

"What were you upset about?"

"I – " Now was the perfect time. I had to say it. I had to.

I got on my hands knees. "Come on, let's go. I'm sure Kendall's calmed down enough by this time."

Katie got on her hands and knees as well, and blocked my exit. "James, what were you upset about?"

"Kyle," I whispered. "Katie, I don't want you to – " The words died in my throat. This was so hard! How was I supposed to tell her how I felt if I couldn't even get the words into my mouth?

"You don't want me to – ?" she prodded, her voice soft and gentle. Her eyes flicked up to meet mine, and it was in that moment that I realized how close our faces were.

I leaned in, and so did she…Our lips were inches apart…and now centimeters…and the floor dropped out from under us.

Damn! We must have been on a trapdoor without realizing it. That would account for the cooler air.

"Oof!" I landed flat on my back on someone's floor, and Katie fell right on top of me.

"James? Katie?" came Logan's voice.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?" Kendall yelled.

"Did you just fall through my ceiling?" Kyle asked in confusion.

"Ow," I groaned. "Yeah, something like that."

I tried to get up, but unfortunately so did Katie, and our movements sent us rolling over so that she was under me. We really aren't very good at looking innocent.

"So James, exactly what have you been doing with my sister?" Kendall asked, standing above us with his arms crossed and his foot tapping.

"I don't suppose you would believe that we were playing Nintendo," I tried.

"Not particularly."

"How about we talk about this back at the apartment?"

"Sounds good. But first you have to detach yourself from my sister."

"Uhhh…yeah…I'll do that…"

The chances of my survival were getting less by the second.

And it wouldn't even be worth it because I hadn't even gotten to kiss Katie! Talk about ruining the moment.

* * *

><p><strong><em>So I finally got a tiny bit less drama (and hopefully more humor!) in this chapter! Yes, some of the humor is very cliche, but that's what makes it classic, right? ;D<em>**

**_So what did you guys of this chapter? Questions, comments, you know where to find me ;) But I am curious as to what your opinions are on Kyle...and how about the new James and Katie situation? That review button loves to be given attention, and without it, it'll get really sad. It might even start crying! And then I'll get sad because the review button and I are very close. And whoa - things just got a tiny bit weird...sooo...on that note...I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! :)_**


	9. Chapter 9 What Love Can Do to a Person

_**Whew, Chapter 9, here we go!**_

_**Disclaimer: Do I have to? I'm exhausted. Okay, okay, here goes...I don't own Big Time Rush. If I did, would I be writing fanfics about them? Oh yeah, I also don't own the Summer Set or their song "Someone Like You"**_

_**To my un-signed-in reader:**_

_**Maslowloverbtr: Ahhh, thank you! That means so much! :)**_

_**Warnings: Language and sexual references**_

_**So this chapter is really sweet and fluffy. Seriously, they're almost skipping down the Yellow Brick Road. But hopefully you guys will like it. I should warn everyone, I wrote most of this chapter yesterday and today, and both days it's been hot and humid and I'm exhausted from having to get up early for classes, so I'm sorry if this chapter isn't as good as the ones are, or if my writing seems a little...off...**_

_**Anyway, enjoy!**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9 – What Love Can Do to a Person<strong>

**James's POV**

I gingerly slid off of Katie and helped her up so that we were both standing.

Kendall nodded, lips pressed together firmly. "Good. Let's go."

We nodded our goodbyes to Kyle and followed Kendall out of the apartment with Logan, Carlos, Camille (she must have shown up, looking for Jo, when I was trying to talk to Katie in the air dart) and Jo trailing cautiously behind us, as if we were a bomb that was about to explode.

The walk back to the apartment felt like it dragged on and on, even though in actuality it was probably only about thirty seconds.

Kendall unlocked the front door and stood back to let us troop in, one after another. His face was emotionless and he was standing straight up like a statue. Somehow, that didn't bold very well for Katie and me.

Once everyone was in the room Kendall joined us and closed the door behind us. The click of the lock was loud and sounded more menacing than usual, probably because we were now trapped inside with no way out.

Kendall stalked over to us. "Sit." He pointed at the couch, and without a word, Katie and I sat down, taking care to keep a few feet of space between us.

"Now, let's begin, shall we? Why did you two go to see _Kiss and Tell 3_? The truth would be a nice change."

"We – we went – " Katie stumbled out.

"You see – it all had to do with – " I tried.

"They were keeping an eye on me!" Jo cried out.

Katie and I both turned to stare at her. Say what?

"They – they were headed into that other movie, but then they saw me go in with Jett and decided to follow us. That's why they were sitting behind us! They were making sure Jett didn't try anything with me."

Because it was Jo and Kendall was so obviously still in love with her, he nodded as if to say that he believed her.

"What about you moaning out Katie's name in the middle of having sex with Courtney?"

"I didn't moan," I retorted, trying to sound as if I actually believed that myself. "I wasn't concentrating and I was thinking of something that Katie had said earlier."

"And the rumors?" Kendall prodded.

"All total bullshit," Katie spoke up. "I would _never_ have sex with a guy in a movie theater bathroom." She paused, and then added with a sly smirk, "Maybe in the back of a car, but never in a movie theater bathroom!"

Kendall's face when completely white, before turning red, and slowly darkening to a fantastic violet.

"JAMES!"

I held up my hands. "What do I have to do with that? I don't do backseats of cars."

"How does she know about – ?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "Kendall, must I remind you that I'm seventeen? I could go into a rated R movie if I wanted to." She nodded her head with her eyes wide to emphasize the point. I put my fist up to my mouth to try to hide my smile. Kendall's face was going back to red, but not by any means lightening up.

"You are not having sex with James in the backseat of the BTR mobile!"

"So I can have sex with him in the back of Mom's Toyota Prius?"

I swear, for a split second steam was coming out of Kendall's ears. He raced to the window, slid it open, and leaned out, screaming his frustration for all of Los Angeles, California, the west coast, and possibly all of the western hemisphere to hear.

Katie got up and walked over to him, placing her hand on his arm. "Come on big brother, you know I'm not like that. I would never have sex with a boy in the backseat of a car, or anything like that, if we hadn't been dating for at least six months and I wasn't in love with him, and I wasn't at least eighteen."

Kendall visibly relaxed. "You mean it baby sister?"

"Of course!"

And he breathed out a huge sigh of relief and wrapped his arms around her. "James, get your ass over here!"

I cautiously got up off of the couch and walked over to Kendall and Katie. Kendall held out one of his arms and I slid into his embrace, slipping my arms around him and Katie. It was the perfect tender, family, picture-perfect moment.

And of course, Kendall just had to say, "But if you _do_ try anything with my sister, you won't want your mirror anymore."

I nodded and forced a gulp back. Jo had saved our asses, but who knew what might come up next in this wonderful, lovely mess that Katie and I had gotten ourselves into?

"And Katie, you are not allowed to have sex with anyone until you're at least thirty – possibly forty."

Jo crossed her arms over her chest. "Really, Kendall? Really? May I remind you of how old _we_ were when we first slept together?"

My ears were burning and with the way Katie winced and clawed at her ears, she was experiencing the same sensation.

Kendall went red. "Why are you even bringing that up? We're broken up now."

"Because it's not fair of you to tell Katie not to sleep with anyone until she's thirty. Just keep that in mind."

"She's my little sister!"

"And she's my friend!"

"Well, you're my ex-girlfriend!"

"And I'm pregnant with _your_ baby!"

There was silence. Total, uncomfortable, awkward, get-me-the-hell-outta-here silence. And then…

Kendall's face lit up. "_Really_? You really _are_?"

Jo nodded, smiling slight. "Yes, I really am."

"But – how – why – how long have you – ?"

"Since the day before I broke up with you."

"But – but why?"

"Because I didn't want you to have to deal with the responsibility of raising a baby," Jo said, now sounding like she was trying not to cry. She brushed at her eyes furiously. "You've already got so much responsibility with the band and your friends and your family, I just couldn't bear to add extra weight to your burden."

"It's not a burden!" Kendall exclaimed. "Jo, I love everything I do and I love my friends and family and I especially love you! And if we're going to have a baby, then I'll be fucked if I don't love that baby too!"

Jo smiled and her eyes shone, although they were glazed with tears. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yes! Of course I mean it! Josephine Taylor, I love you with all my heart!"

"I love you too."

And then, in one fluid motion, Kendall had crossed the room and gotten down on one knee. He took her hands in his and gazed up at her adoringly.

Oh Lord, he wasn't…

"Josephine Taylor, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Jo nodded, tears now streaming down her face. "Oh my God yes! Yes! Infinity times yes!"

Kendall grabbed her around her waist and picked her up as he straightened up. He twirled her around and she laughed uproariously. Once they were both good and dizzy he set her back down and kissed her gently.

The entire room broke out into applause and wolf-whistles, with Camille whooping and screaming "It's about effing time you two!" Our two favorite lovebirds broke apart and they grinned, looking both happy and ridiculous at the same time.

Before anyone could say anything, the front door swung open and Mrs. Knight came marching in, looking much more relaxed than she usually did. She looked up and her eyes widened, taking in Kendall and Jo's embrace and Katie and me with our arms still around each other.

"What'd I miss?"

Kendall took one of Jo's hands and grasped one of his mother's. "Mom, I don't know how to tell you this, but…We're pregnant!"

Mrs. Knight's jaw dropped. "Please tell me it's just you two and not Katie and James!"

Katie threw her mother a disbelieving look while I face-palmed. How is it that everyone thinks we're having sex?

"Oh yeah Mom, I'm totally pregnant," Katie's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "We threw a drunken orgy about a month and a half ago and I can't remember what happened except I ended up in bed with James and now I'm having his baby and – " she heaved a huge, dramatic sigh, " – the baby's a Martian."

You had to hand it to the girl. She kept both her expression and tone completely deadpan.

Mrs. Knight scowled at her daughter. "It's nice to know you and James aren't pregnant, Katie," she said disapprovingly before turning back to her son and his fiancé.

"Now what's this about you two having a baby?" she demanded.

Kendall shuffled back, hiding behind his smaller, thinner girlfriend. "Well, you see Mom," he began nervously. "Funny story…But, uh, if it makes you feel any better, we're getting married!"

Mrs. Knight's face immediately brightened. "You are? Really? Congratulations!" There was a pause and then she began to tear up. "Oh, my baby boy's getting married and having a baby! Where did the time go? They grow up so fast! Kendall, Katie, come here sweeties!"

Katie slipped out from my grasp and Kendall came out from behind Jo. The Knight siblings wrapped their arms around their mother and she held them to her, tears streaking down her face while she smiled with a mixture of happiness and sadness.

Camille grinned at Jo. "This is the family you're marrying into."

Jo smiled so widely it looked like her face was going to split, apart at the seams. "Yeah I know."

Mrs. Knight looked up over Katie's head. "Jo, come on! You're about to be part of the family, and you're carrying my grandchild!"

I didn't think it was possible, but Jo's smile got even bigger and she walked over to her fiancé and her future sister-in-law and mother-in-law and wrapped her arms around them.

We gave them a few seconds before the rest of us joined them, turning it into one huge group hug.

"Correction," I heard Katie say, sounding slightly muffled, to Camille. "She's marrying into _this_ family." And I knew she was referring to every single person in the entire room. Who knew Katie could be such a sucker for family moments?

Jo laughed. "I was already a part of this family."

"You're just going to be more closely related than you were before," Katie assured her. "You're going to my sister-in-law! AAAAGH!" she screamed. "I'm going to be an aunt! OH MY GOD!" The entire group fell apart and Katie stared at Kendall, grinning like crazy. "YOU'RE GOING TO BE A FATHER!" She turned to Jo. "AND YOU'RE GOING TO BE A MOTHER! AND MOM! YOU'RE GOING TO BE A GRANDMA!"

"And we're going to be adoptive uncles, right?" Carlos asked, slinging an arm around Kendall.

Kendall grinned at Carlos, Logan, and me. "Forget the adoptive part, all right? You'll be the baby's uncles through and through."

Jo nodded in agreement and she and Kendall put their arms around each other, pulling the other closer to them. "This baby's going to be born into a huge, crazy family. And I have a feeling she's going to thrive in the chaos."

Kendall coughed. "Ahem, honey. The baby might be a boy."

The effect was instantaneous – Katie burst out laughing and I quickly followed her, while Jo replied,

"No, I have a feeling it's going to be a girl."

"Are – are you sure?"

"Kendall , think of all the things you can do with a daughter! You can play sports with her, but you can also watch her in ballet rehearsals, and you can play dolls with her, and you can chase boys away from her instead of from your sister."

"I like that last part!" Katie piped up.

Kendall grinned. "I can see it now…Whichever gender this baby is, we'll love them, no matter what."

Jo nodded. "That's right."

Mrs. Knight cleared her throat. "So we need to start planning your wedding! Did you two want to get married before the baby bump began to show?"

Kendall and Jo glanced at each other, both looking a bit alarmed.

"I – I don't know…" Jo said, biting her lip.

"Well, get your father down here and we'll figure this whole thing out!" Mrs. Knight said cheerfully.

Jo winced. "Yeah, about my father…He kinda doesn't know yet…"

"Well, then we're just going to have to go and tell him!"

She made it sound so easy…

Katie, Logan, Carlos, and I stayed in the apartment while Kendall, Jo, Mrs. Knight, and Camille went up to Jo's apartment to break the news to her dad.

Even though we were a floor below, we could still hear the explosion.

There was a lot of stomping and shouting and cursing, but eventually things calmed down. After about half an hour, Kendall texted me to say that they were staying up there to begin planning the wedding, and Logan and Carlos headed out to see a movie that Carlos really wanted to see. It looked extremely stupid, but it was Logan's way of making it to him over the science center.

Kyle was shooting a scene for his show, so Scarlett texted Katie to see if she wanted to hang out by the pool for a couple of hours.

The entire apartment would be empty, and Katie would be the first one back…This gave me an idea.

I texted Logan to suggest that he and Carlos go out to eat after the movie, and texted Kendall to let him know that I was going to try to apologize to Katie in my own way, so not to come back to the apartment for a few hours. He texted back, **Lots of luck! Don't do anything stupid, 'k?**

I laughed after reading his message and quickly got to work.

* * *

><p><strong>Katie's POV<strong>

"Honestly, can you believe my brother?" Scarlett said as she finished her story about Jett. She had been explaining to me all about his addiction – which, of course, I already knew about – and had finished up with an eye roll. "He is so immature and refuses to take responsibility for anything."

I laughed. "A lot of people are like that though. Maybe he'll grow out of it."

Scarlett smirked over at me. "Now say it like you mean it."

I grinned. "Sorry, no can do."

There was a pause, and then Scarlett said, "I wasn't sure you'd want to meet up with me. You know, on account of Kyle."

I glanced over at her in confusion, my heart rate picking up speed. Did she know about the plan to get Kyle to notice me? "What do you mean?"

"Didn't he tell you? We had a fight this afternoon. We're not talking right now."

"What – no! What about?" What the heck? What had they fought about? She was one of the only girls with a little bit of substance who he had dated. Could the fight have anything to do with _me_?

Scarlett shook her head. "It was my fault. I got on him about not paying a lot of attention to me, and he got really annoyed over that. He just stormed off and hasn't returned any of my apology texts. I don't know. I thought dating a costar would be fun, because I've never done it before, but it was just really weird. We don't really have anything in common. Shame. He's a really nice guy.

"I'm sorry," I said sincerely. "But he'll talk to you eventually. Kyle's the master at ignoring people and blowing them off. He's done it to me a number of times, whenever he has a new girlfriend or something."

Scarlett bit into her bee-stung lower lip. "Did he do it to you when I first came into the picture?"

Wordlessly, I nodded.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I hate it when people treat their friends like shit whenever someone new comes into the picture. They shouldn't be allowed to do that."

"No, they shouldn't, but it happens."

She paused, and then asked, "So I've barely seen you for the last week. What've you and James been up to?" she waggled her eyebrows suggestively and I blushed.

"It's…um…been interesting…"

"How so?"

"Oh, you know, just couple-y things." Right on cue, my phone went off and I pulled it out of my jeans' pocket. It was a text from James:

**I have a surprise for you. Be up at the apartment by 7:00. ;)**

"It's from James," I said in astonishment. "He has a surprise for me. He wants me back at the apartment by seven."

Scarlett grinned. "Maybe he's making you dinner or something."

"Oh God, Scarlett! Don't scare me like that!"

She laughed. "Is he a terrible cook?"

"Well, I'd rather have him cook then Carlos," I admitted. "But he's still not the best cook in the world. I once walked in on him Googling _the recipe for toast_."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. I'm a little afraid of what he would make. He's probably trying to figure out the recipe for Instant Mac as we speak."

"Well, either way, we're going to make you pretty for tonight."

"Uh…say what?"

"Yeah. And we'll be spraying you with perfume. You smell like an air dart."

"Gee…I wonder why…"

"No sarcasm from you. Come on, scoot! We're going up to my apartment to beautify you – not that you aren't already gorgeous, but a little extra makeup and some nice perfume will do wonders for you. And maybe he'll get past the fact that you're Kendall's little sister."

That last comment threw me and I nearly fell in the pool.

"Umm…if we're dating, then wouldn't he – ?"

Scarlett laughed. "Katie, I know you and James are fake-dating." This time she really did have to grab me to make sure that I didn't fall into the water.

"How did you – how did – ?"

Scarlett smiled, but it wasn't sinister. It was actually…sweet. "I have never seen you two kiss on the lips. Not even on the cheek. You two act completely normal when everyone else is around. He was protesting way too much today when Courtney cornered him about moaning out your name. He had no idea you used to have a crush on him. Plus, he tried to have sex with Courtney and had issues. Courtney didn't say when it happened, but considering that she chose today to corner him, I'm guessing it was pretty recent. Come on, Katie, it was obvious. Well, not to Kyle, he's still completely oblivious, but to someone who was actually paying attention…"

"Scarlett, I – "

"Kyle told me that he's been getting on you about never dating anyone. That's why you're doing this, right? To prove to him that you're perfectly capable of going out with someone?"

Ahhhh, the wonders of living in Scarlett's world.

"Uh, yeah, something like that."

Scarlett nodded in satisfaction. "But you're becoming interested in James. Am I right?"

"I – I don't know. This whole thing with James has gotten confusing."

"Well, let's see if we can get things straightened out. By the way, what's going on with your brother and Jo Taylor?"

"She's pregnant with his baby and they're getting married."

"Really? Wow! That's fantastic! Tell them congratulations from me!" By this time we were in the lobby and headed towards the elevators.

"I will."

"And congrats on becoming an aunt."

"Thanks."

Jett was still at his meeting, and would be a couple more hours, so we had Scarlett's apartment all to ourselves. The second we were in her room, Scarlett forced me down into a chair and began examining my face and hair.

"I'm thinking a golden-brown eye shadow…black mascara…a little brown eyeliner…very light blush…and some basic lip gloss…And of course, we have to do something with your hair. I'm thinking gentle waves. It's romantic and feminine, and isn't that what you're going for, Miss Tomboy?" she winked at me.

"How did you know about me being a total tomboy? Is it that obvious?" I had actually been putting makeup on and doing my hair last week, but it Scarlett could see through it, then maybe I wasn't doing as good a job as I thought I had. Of course, she had also figured out that James and I weren't actually dating, so maybe she's just super observant.

"Duh, Kyle. He's told me a lot about you. I still can't believe how pissed off he is that you and James are dating. I mean fake-dating. I mean, Kyle thinks you guys are actually…you know what I mean!""

"He's still upset about that?"

"I think he's more ticked off about James moaning out your name than anything else. You should've heard him bitching about that. Sucks to be him. Well, that's what he gets for appointing himself your surrogate brother. And here we go. Close your eyes, I want to do your eye shadow first."

The rest of the afternoon went by pretty quickly, considering Scarlett was giving me an extreme makeover. She asked questions about James, told me hilarious stories about Jett (more blackmail material – yes!) and wanted to know what life in Minnesota had been like. Before long, it was a quarter

to seven and Scarlett was stepping back to admire her handiwork.

"Damn, I'm good," she said in satisfaction.

I stepped in front of her bedroom mirror and my jaw nearly hit the floor. It was me, but at the same time, it wasn't.

My brown eyes were popping, and the golden specks in them were glowing. My lashes were dark and long, thanks to her mascara, and my cheeks were a soft pink. My long hair fell in soft waves down my back, and Scarlett had clipped my bangs back so that they were out of my face.

I had been dressed pretty normally that day, in slim-fitting jeans and a form-fitting t-shirt and sneakers, and I still wore the jeans and shirt, but Scarlett had lent me a pair of wedges that she had managed to find in one of the boxes that contained her old shoes. Scarlett had even gotten rid of the air dart smell that apparently had been clinging to me – she had sprayed me from head to toe with sweet pea scented perfume.

"You look gorgeous," she told me, coming up behind me. "James is going to have a heart attack when he sees you."

"If Kendall comes back home and sees me all made up like this while having dinner with James – "

"It's not like you're wearing a shirt that shows off everything. He can't complain. And if he does, just tell him I decided to experiment a little on you. And admit it, K-squared, you 're hot."

"James will never go for it – "

"Not tonight, but if he's still fooling himself into thinking that he moaned your name because he was distracted, he'll be doing some quick realizing tonight."

I turned to the side and struck a pose, and felt my lips tug out in a smile. "Thank you, Scarlett. You do fantastic work."

She slung an arm around my shoulders. "Well, you're naturally pretty, so I didn't have to do much."

I blushed. "I'm not that pretty."

"Yes you are. And James is so going to agree! Now you better get going, but text me later to tell me how it goes! I want to know what his expression is like when you walk in the door."

I laughed. "Well, I'd hate to deprive you of the privilege of knowing how your makeover was received by other people…"

She walked me to the door and said, "Have fun tonight. You don't need to figure anything out tonight, and neither does he. But maybe this will get the ball rolling."

"Thanks Scarlett. I'll see you later."

I left her apartment and headed to my own place.

I paused outside of 2J. I didn't _hear_ anything. No cussing or smoke alarms or firefighters yelling at each other…

I cautiously opened the door and stepped into the living room. James was waiting by the table, grinning. His mouth fell open when he saw me.

"Oh…wow…Katie…you look…wow…"

I giggled. "Fantastic vocabulary, James."

He smiled sheepishly. "You look amazing, Batie-Bear."

"Thanks. Scarlett decided that she needed to perform a makeover on someone, and I was her first choice. She picked my name out of a hat and everything. Whoa." My breath caught in my throat as I walked farther into the apartment. The living room was still the same, but the dining table…It was covered in a white linen tablecloth, with two candles in the very center of the table. Two places were set at the table with china dishes, our best silverware, and wineglasses. Something was cooking on the stove, but I couldn't tell what it was. I was too mesmerized by the table.

And then there was James. He was dressed in jeans and sneakers, it was true, but he was also wearing a button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, and a tie. As always, his hair looked amazing, and his eyes were glittering. He looked beyond fantastic, and I could feel my heart beating even faster and my stomach clenching.

Soft music was playing in the background and the lights were dim. It was…dare I say it…romantic.

James bowed. "My lady."

I reached him and he took one of my hands in his, bending to kiss it.

"Since when are you a gentleman?"

"Since tonight," he answered. "This is my way of apologizing for everything I said and did last week."

"Ohhhh…" So that was it. Wow. He sure had a guilty conscience. "I forgave you for that earlier today."

"Yeah, but it just doesn't feel right. Give me some closure, Katie, I said some pretty terrible stuff."

"So did I."

"But I actually deserved it. You were right. I do use girls, and I do manipulate them and I have been on a power trip with them. You're the only one who I don't get that way with."

"Well, I am your best friend's little sister," I reminded him, and inwardly winced. Why had I just said that?

"That has nothing to do with it," James told me. "It's more. You…You always say what you mean and you know how to keep me in line, which I need on a pretty regular basis. You always bring me back to reality."

I smiled. "Thanks James."

"Come on, dinner's ready. I made your favorite."

"Macaroni and cheese?"

"Hell yeah! And I even found a bottle of cherry coke," he added, grinning like crazy and I beamed. Cherry coke is my absolute favorite kind of soda and he knows it.

He whisked me over to the table and pulled the chair out for me. I sat down neatly and he pushed it in a foot or so, before going over to get the macaroni and cheese off of the stove. He carried it over to the table and set it down, and hurried over to the fridge to pull out the bottle of cherry coke. He unscrewed the cap and poured a (un)healthy amount into my glass before addressing his own.

"James, I can't believe you did all this!" I exclaimed as he sat down at the table opposite me. "It's – it's amazing! I don't think anyone's ever done anything this nice for me."

He smiled. Even though only a couple of the lights were on and the room was mainly lit by the candles on the table, I could have sworn I saw some red creep into James's face.

"Anything for my Batie-Bear," he replied cheerfully. "Anything to make it up to you."

We piled our food onto our plates and for a few minutes there was only the sound of us chewing and the music that was playing in the background. Speaking of the music…

"Since when do you listen to classical?" I asked as I took sip of coke.

"It's supposed to be relaxing and positive-mood inducing."

"Okay, now you're starting to sound like my mom."

James winced. "In that case, my mom gave me the CD for my birthday and I never bothered to open it. I figured I could put it to good use tonight."

I grinned. That sounded more like it.

Dinner passed by quickly. I helped James clear the table and we piled the dishes in the sink, completely ignoring them. Instead, James popped the CD out of the stereo and instead turned on the radio. The Summer Set's song "Someone Like You" was playing, and James immediately grabbed my hand and swung me around, like he might if we were swing dancing. I laughed as my hair whipped my face, and he twirled me under his arm, dipping me back smoothly before letting me back up.

"I guess all those dance lessons paid off," I panted as he spun me around again.

He pouted at me. "You doubted it?"

"After watching you perform onstage with my brother and Logan and Carlos for the past five years? Not in the least."

"Good. I'd hate to have you underestimate me."

"As if I could ever do that."

"Oh, you definitely could. But I love you for it."

I blushed. "You are such a cheese ball."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Cheese ball? Cheese is awesome! And a ball of cheese would be the most awesome thing in the world! Therefore, I am the most awesome guy in the world."

"You are so egotistical."

He twirled me around. "Only on the outside, my dear."

The song faded away and James led me to the couch. "So there was something I wanted to talk to you about," he said.

I nodded. "Shoot."

"About the whole fake-dating thing…I think we should continue it."

"You – you do?"

"Yeah. It was going really well before, and then things just kind of collapsed on us. But we should continue on with this. When I was talking to Kyle last Friday, he was talking about someone who he liked but couldn't have, and it sounded like he was talking about you. And then today…He admitted that he liked you. We're so close. And you should be with the guy you love."

Wow. A week-and-a-half ago I had been begging James to fake-date me so that I could go out with Kyle, but now that he was saying that we should continue with the plan, I was wondering whether or not I actually wanted to be with Kyle.

But instead of voicing my confusion I nodded and smiled. "Yeah, we should continue with this. I don't think things are going very well with Kyle and Scarlett – honestly, they don't seem very into each other."

James grinned. "Perfect. In that case…we put the plan back into action tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds good."

* * *

><p><strong>James's POV<strong>

Go ahead. Call me an idiot. Call me a moron. But I had my reasons.

If she really likes Kyle, then she'll end up with him and she'll be happy. But if I'm right, and I'm pretty sure I am, then the last week-and-a-half has really opened her eyes. All I need to do is start hinting, and since we'll be working in such close quarters for the next week, maybe…just maybe…things will work out the way they're supposed to.

And if they don't…then I'm just going to have to keep on trying. It's as simple as that.

But God, she looked beautiful. She always looks beautiful, but tonight she was absolutely radiant. I couldn't stop staring at her. It just made me realize that I need her more than I've ever needed anyone. But I'm not going to tell her that – not until I'm positive that she feels the same way. It's just a matter of waiting things out and hoping that everything falls into place, the way they did with Kendall and Jo – although hopefully Katie won't be pregnant when we finally figure things out.

Speaking of Kendall and Jo…

The two lovebirds, Camille, Mrs. Knight, and Mr. Taylor came crashing into our apartment – his mother and her father in the middle of a disagreement about where the wedding should be held – just as Katie agreed to our scheme.

Everyone stopped in their tracks.

"What is going on in here?" Mrs. Knight demanded, taking in the table, the dishes in the sink, the candles, the music, and Katie's and my half formal-half casual attire.

"I'm just winning back Katie's love and trust," I replied with a wink and a smile.

She nodded and grinned. "He even cooked me dinner, and didn't burn anything down." Somehow, I don't think she trusts me in the kitchen.

Mrs. Knight breathed out a sigh of relief. "Good. Anyway, we've gotten some of the wedding details figured out, but we need the measure of the living room for the reception…"

"Speaking of the wedding, have you guys figured out when it's going to be?" Katie asked.

Kendall nodded. "A week from tomorrow."

I gaped at him. "That's not enough time! And who the hell is going to come to a last-minute wedding?"

Jo smiled blissfully. "The people who matter."

Wow. She sounded like she was doped up on a bunch of painkillers, but I guess that's what love can do to people.

"So anyway, we have a week to put together the best effing wedding in the history of best effing weddings!" Camille clapped her hands together. "Prepare Los Angeles for Kendall Knight and Josephine Taylor's wedding!" There was a pause, and then she screamed, "Oh shit! I'm the maid of honor! I need to put together Jo's bachelorette party! And I have less than week! That's not enough time!"

Camille continued to freak out about the bachelorette party, while Mrs. Knight and Mr. Taylor never missed a beat with their argument, and Kendall and Jo just stared adoringly into each other's eyes.

These were the people who were supposed to plan the wedding. We. Were. So. Screwed.

* * *

><p><strong><em>By the way, I completely forgot something for the AN in Chapter 8, so here it is...To all of you Americans, HAPPY [late] FOURTH OF JULY!_**

**_So what did you guys think of this chapter? I know, I know, everyone, or almost everyone, saw Jo's pregnancy coming a mile away, but I was stuck on the idea. And wow, I've been thinking about it, and I think the end of this story might be in sight. It's still going to be a few chapters, but we're headed in the direction of the conclusion, which makes me sad :( On the bright side, I have another Jatie fic that I'm looking forward to writing...Okay, I'm too brain dead to come up with my usual questions about the chapter, so instead I'll just say the review button craves attention...And I love reviews ;) Okay, love you guys, I'm going to fall out of my chair now and collapse on the floor._**


	10. Chapter 10  Throw 'Em To the Paparazzi

_**Chapter 10 has arrived!**_

_**Disclaimer: It's called a disclaimer for a reason - I dis-claim that I own or have any rights to Big Time Rush. Figure it out copyright people. And have a nice day!**_

_**So, I have a few people to thank...**_

_**gfabulas: Ah, that's so sweet! Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like this story :)**_

_**The Anyonymous reviewer: Thank you very much! There's plenty of Jatie moments in this chapter, so hopefully you'll like it! :)**_

_**Anigen: Thank you so much for taking the time to review! Heehee, I've gotta agree, Scarlett's pretty awesome. And that's more or less James's plan, to "fake-date her into loving him", to quote you :)**_

_**musiclover: Thank you so much! That's so nice of you, and that means so much! You're awesome :)**_

_**InFrickinLove: Well, thank you very much! I'm happy you're enjoying the story! I'll flip out if I don't keep updating too, because I love writing this! Thank you, that's so sweet of you to say that! :)**_

_**THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS TAKEN THE TIME TO REVIEW, STORY ALERT, OR FAVORITE THIS STORY! It means so much to me, and I love knowing that people are enjoying the story! And I love hearing your opinions on the story! So thank you!**_

_**Warnings: Language and sexual references (is it just me or is the language and sexual references getting worse in each chapter? Oh well, this was never meant to be G-rated, so I guess I won't worry about it ;D)**_

_**So I really wanted to get this chapter up today. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to because I've been so busy, but I finally finished the chapter! I've been planning some of the events in this chapter for awhile, and I had a lot of fun with this chapter :)**_

_**Enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10 – Throw 'Em To the Paparazzi<strong>

**Katie's POV**

It was nearly midnight by the time Jo, Camille, and Mr. Taylor left our apartment. There were other things besides the wedding that needed to be discussed, including Kendall and Jo's living arrangements. They were considering renting out another apartment here at the Palmwoods, but no final decisions had been made.

I changed into my pajamas and had just finished brushing my teeth when I noticed that Mom's bedroom light was on. Hers and Kendall's voices were drifting out from her room, so I decided to go and investigate.

I knocked softly on the door, not wanting to wake the rest of the apartment up. "Hey," I called quietly. "It's me."

"Come on in sweetie," Mom answered and I opened the door.

Mom and Kendall were sitting on her bed, facing each other. I walked over and joined them, feeling the tension ease out of my muscles as I sank down onto the bed.

"I was just talking to Kendall about Jo," Mom said. "It's finally beginning to sink in that my son is going to be a father – and that he got his girlfriend pregnant."

"Yeah, Kendork," I told him. "It's called a condom. Remember what it's for?"

He glared at me. "As I was telling Mom, we used protection every single time. But protection isn't one-hundred percent foolproof."

"Duh, otherwise we wouldn't have spent the evening trying to decide what colors the bridesmaid dresses should be."

"Hey, you spent quite a bit of the evening with James, so what're you complaining about?"

"It was after you guys came in that I'm complaining about. And I'm not complaining. I was merely making a comment," I finished with a haughty sniff.

"So," Mom began in a would-be casual voice, "what exactly were you thinking, Kendall Schmidt, HAVING SEX WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND?"

"Ummm, I don't think you really want to know," replied nervously, backing away a little.

"Oh come on, Mom," I said with a groan. "You told me last week to go ahead and have sex once I'm eighteen as long as the guy and I use protection."

"I was talking about you and James, he's careful and sweet, and I'm seriously thinking about retracting my permission."

Kendall nearly fell of the bed. "What the hell, Mom? You gave her permission to have sex with James? He's a guy! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"

"Keep it down, Big Brother," I hushed him. "Everyone else is trying to sleep."

"You – how – why – James – sex – no!" he managed to get out.

"She and James would make an adorable couple," Mom replied smoothly. "And he obviously cares about her, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to so much trouble to win her forgiveness."

"But – but – she's not allowed to have sex with him!"

"Well, not now, but she'll be eighteen in a few months, and then her body is her own."

"KATIE IS NOT HAVING SEX UNTIL SHE'S AT LEAST THIRTY! AND SHE'S DEFINITELY NOT HAVING SEX WITH JAMES!"

"And this is why I usually wear earplugs to bed," came an all-too familiar voice from the doorway. "Because then I avoid walking in on really awkward conversations like, say, this one."

We all spun around and found James, Logan, and Carlos standing in the doorway. James leaned against the doorframe casually, looking like he was trying not to laugh.

"James and I are not having sex, nor have we ever had sex, and you can't tell me what I can do, so stop trying to forbid me from having sex when you knocked up your girlfriend!" I cried, feeling my cheeks tinge red in embarrassment.

"Maybe we should all shut up before one of us – and by us, I mean you Knight siblings – says something that we'll later regret," Logan suggested.

Carlos, as usual, wasn't listening. He elbowed James in the ribs. "Dude, Mama Knight just told Katie she can't sleep with you! How does that make you feel?"

James smirked. "Well, I got her permission before apparently…"

Kendall, once again, looked like his head was about to explode.

James winked at me and I caught the joke.

"We'll just have to get it again," I said, grinning. "So, once I'm eighteen, I'll be moving into your room, right?"

James's eyes widened for just a moment, and behind me Kendall began spluttering random words.

"Uhhh…yeah, definitely, I'll kick Carlos out and we'll get a larger bed. Oh, and we'll be needing soundproof walls."

This time Kendall really did fall of the bed. "Kill…James…fucker!"

"Actually," Logan piped up, also grinning in realization, "I think its Katie he's planning on fucking."

Kendall began making random noises that could have substituted for vocal threats.

Mom looked like she was torn between amusement and horror. Finally, she said, "Okay, okay, enough of this. This is perverted and I would expect better from…well, none of you actually, but this isn't appropriate for a mother's ears. So what're you three doing in here?" she directed at James, Logan, and Carlos.

Carlos shrugged. "We heard the shouting and thought we'd better come to make sure no one was getting killed in here."

"Too late," Kendall snarled. "I'm going to strangle James, then I'm going to strangle Katie, and I might just strangle Logan. That was mean!"

"But hilarious," I said. "That's what you get for overreacting."

"Can we please get off the subject of sex, please?" Mom spoke up.

"Uh, considering the reason we're all here in the first place, and considering our ages, that might be a little hard," I informed her.

"Well, give it a try anyway."

James cleared his throat, still looking amused from our joke on Kendall. "So Logan, Carlos, how was the movie?"

"It was freaking awesome!" Carlos cheered while Logan shook his head and mouthed the word "horrible" behind Carlos's back. "There were these two guys and they were in this fire truck and then…"

Eventually we all zoned him out.

Mom pushed my hair back off of my shoulders and ruffled Kendall's hair. "You've both grown up so much," she said softly to us. "I'm so proud of you both."

"Even though my girlfriend's pregnant?" Kendall asked weakly.

She smiled. "You're marrying her, and at least you're in love with her. And I'm going to be a grandmother! There's a lot of worse things that could have happened."

"You're being really cool about all this, Mrs. Knight," Logan commented.

She shrugged. "After being out here in L.A for so long, I'm just thankful none of you have done anything worse. I consider myself very lucky."

I grinned. "As you should."

Mom glanced at the clock. "I know it's late and we should all probably go to bed…"

"But we're not going to," Kendall finished for her with a grin.

"No, we're not going to. I don't think any of us is going to sleep very well tonight."

We ended up pigging out on popcorn, chips, ice cream, soda, and anything random that we could get our hands on while watching TV Land. We were riding high on sugar rushes for a couple of hours – even Mom – but eventually we all began slowing down.

I could feel drowsiness draining me as I sat down next to James on the couch. "Tonight was fun," I commented as I laid my head on his shoulder. It was hard and muscular. He raised his arm and pushed me down so that I was using his chest as a pillow and his arm was around me. "The entire night, including the dinner. I'm so glad we're talking again, I really missed you."

He pressed his lips to my head and I felt my breathing speed up a little. I thought he only did that when Kyle was around…

"I missed you too Batie-Bear. It wasn't the same without you, nothing ever is."

"So Kendall's getting married and having a baby," I mumbled into James's t-shirt. "Scary thought. What 'bout you? Think you're ready to be an uncle?"

"Very ready. And you're going to be an aunt. How do you feel about that?"

"Weird. I don't feel old enough, even though I know two-year-olds can be aunts."

"Don't you miss the good ol' days, before everyone thought we were sleeping together and Jo was pregnant and Kendall was marrying her? Before we grew up?" His voice was quiet and he was gently stroking my hair.

"I don't know…growing up isn't always as bad as it seems. I don't really mind at the moment. If we hadn't grown up, I wouldn't be here with you tonight like this."

"In that case, I'm very glad we got older."

I grinned. "Good."

* * *

><p><strong>James's POV<strong>

I awoke the next morning on the couch with Katie's head resting on my chest and my arm around her. Not a bad way to wake up…

Kendall was already up, texting someone. He looked up as I straightened up as much as I could without throwing Katie off the couch.

"Jo and I are going to get together today to continue planning the wedding," he said once he was sure I was fully awake.

"Tell her 'hi' from me," I mumbled, still groggy.

"Will do."

He paused for a moment, his fingers flying over his keypad, before looking up and asking me, "So what're your plans for the day?"

"I think I'm going to see what Katie wants to do. We haven't hung out for almost a week after all."

Kendall smirked. "It's times like this when I can see you two getting together – not like, oh God, you know! But like a relationship. Not that I want that," he added hurriedly. "I don't want you anywhere near her like that. But you are so whipped by her."

I scowled. "Oh, like you wouldn't go and kneel at Jo's feet if she asked you to."

Kendall paused. "That's…a really good point."

"Girl power bro," Katie muttered out as she sat up, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes. She was so cute. Her hair was a tangled mess and her eyes were still half-closed. I took my arm away so that she could sit up properly and she frowned at me.

"Boo. I like your arm around me."

Yep, she was still half asleep, but hey, for the time being I felt special, so I put my arm back around her and she snuggled up to me.

Kendall gaped at us. "And it's times like this when I start questioning the nature of your guys' relationship. So I'm gonna go take a shower and then get the hell out of here before you two decide to turn the whole thing into a joke." He got to his feet and walked out of the room to the bathroom. A moment later the shower came on and James and I turned to each other grinning.

"You've got to admit, as inappropriate as that was, that was fucking hilarious," I said, trying not to crack up. The memory from the night before was still extremely vivid in my mind.

"That was the most entertainment I've gotten in awhile. Well, besides overhearing Jett's little…um…_problem_," Katie replied.

"So what do you want to do today?" I asked her.

"Let's go out today. Maybe go shopping or go out to lunch. I'm sick of hanging around the Palmwoods."

"Sounds good."

As soon as Kendall was out of the apartment Katie and I struggled off of the couch and began to get ready for the day. By the time we left the apartment it was almost one in the afternoon. I was pretty sure that none of us had gotten much sleep the night before, but that wasn't surprising. We would just have to make up for it tonight.

Besides, I didn't mind spending the day with Katie. I knew we were supposed to be fake-dating and everything so that she could go out with Kyle, but if that's what it took to spend time with her, than it would be worth it. Besides, I might be able to charm her into completely forgetting about him. Hmmm…it was worth a shot.

We headed out to the BTR mobile and hopped in. I pulled out of the parking lot, got onto the road, and drove down the mall, since Katie was talking about looking at bridesmaids' dresses at the bridal shop down there. She wanted to pick up a catalog for Jo to go through. She was going to be one of Jo's bridesmaids and didn't want to have to wear a nightmare for a dress. I personally thought that she would look beautiful in anything, but I didn't say that.

Because we were still so full on our late night/early morning pig out we stopped by the bridal shop first. Colbie Caillat's song "Falling For You" was playing in the background and Katie hummed along as she looked around at the dresses.

"Isn't this one pretty?" she commented, holding up a pale blue halter dress.

"It's beautiful," I replied, combing through the dresses myself. I'm not really into girls' fashion, but I was interested in what Katie would be wearing to the wedding.

"What about this one?" she asked, holding up a pink dress.

I shook my head. "You're not really the _pink_-type of girl."

She put her hands on her hips. "Than what _am_ I?"

"You're more like…this." I snatched a dress of one of the hangers and Katie's jaw dropped. I could see why – it was stunning.

"Do you – do you mind if I try it on?" she asked shyly, slowly reaching for the dress.

I smiled. "You better, I want to see you in it."

She blushed and wrapped her hands around the cloth, before stuffing her purse in my hands and hurrying off to the changing room. I waited just outside the changing room, ignoring the looks from all the women who were in there, no doubt wondering what the hell I was doing in there.

"_What_?" I snapped at some bride's mother who was staring at me like I had just sprouted a beak and had announced that I was flying off to the moon on the next rocket.

She straightened up and puffed herself out like a ruffled bird. "_You're_ a _male_," she said haughtily.

"Yeah, last time I checked I had the right equipment," I quipped, turning my attention back to the changing room.

"So what are _you_ doing in a _bridal_ shop?"

Before I could reply, the changing room door opened and Katie stepped out. I felt my breath leave my chest and my jaw dropped. She looked beyond amazing, beyond beautiful.

The dress was made out of a silky material, and was a light golden color that went well with her tanned skin and long, shimmering brown hair. It was a long shift, very simple, but still extremely elegant. The straps were thin, and the chest gathered in the front, showing just enough cleavage to make me gulp. There was a slit up one side, to her knee, and she was holding the dress up at that point, spinning nervously.

"So how do I look?" her voice was filled with anxiety, and I knew she was worried about looking like such a…well…like such a girl.

"You look beautiful," I answered. "Beyond beautiful. Beyond anything. You're gorgeous Katie. And Jo really needs to get these bridesmaid dresses."

The woman who I had been arguing with sniffed. "Too low cut, the whole point of a long dress is for the leg _not_ to show, and aren't you a little young to be a bridesmaid?"

Katie glared at her. "I can't believe they let _you_ out of the zoo. How'd you escape?"

The woman clicked her tongue and walked away, muttering, "Insolent little brats…"

Katie turned back to me. "Who _was_ she?"

"The Wicked Witch of the West's mother," I replied and she grinned.

"I thought I saw a resemblance." She glanced down at the dress and smoothed out the skirt of her dress. "So you really like the dress?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it's stunning on you."

She blushed and smiled shyly. "Thanks James."

I grabbed her hand and spun her around, making her laugh. "Maybe I should buy the dress for you anyway, even if Jo chooses another dress for the bridesmaids. That way you can change into it for the reception and you won't have to wear a God-awful dress for the entire time."

Her smile widened. "You don't have to do that – "

"But I want to," I argued. "Come on, let me buy it for you. You look so beautiful in it, it would be a crime against nature not to get it for you to wear."

"You really like it?"

"Yeah, I do."

She nodded. "Okay then. I guess I'll go change back into my regular clothes."

Katie headed back into the changing room and a couple of minutes later she emerged, wearing the denim destroyed shorts, cami and plaid button-up shirt, and converse sneakers she had been wearing before, and carrying the dress. I took the dress from her and brought it up to the cash register so I could pay for it.

* * *

><p><strong>Katie's POV<strong>

James insisted on taking me to all my favorite stores and treating me to my favorite restaurant at the mall. Seriously, he was spoiling me rotten. Not that I minded, I just hoped that it wasn't because he still felt guilty about the events from the week before.

Afterwards, he suggested we go to the movie theater at the mall to watch a new action movie that we both wanted to see. I agreed happily and we headed over in that direction, laughing and chatting the entire way.

The movie was much better than _Kiss and Tell 3_ and I think we both enjoyed it thoroughly.

Once we were out of the theater James pulled out his phone. "I'm just checking my messages," he assured me, as if he was worried that I would think that he wasn't paying enough attention to me. "Kendall might be ready to kill me since I've had you away from the apartment for so long."

After a moment he put his phone away and smiled at me. "Nothing. How about you? Anyone text or call you?"

I pulled my own phone out and quickly checked to make sure no one had texted me or had left me a voice message. "Nope, I guess everyone's too busy with planning the wedding." I frowned. "Do you think we should be there?"

James shook his head. "It's better for our sanity if we let them get the basic details out of the way. And if they wanted us to be there, they'd throw a fit about it. Besides, Logan and Carlos aren't there today either."

I nodded as I slipped my phone into my jeans pocket.

"So do you want to go back to the apartment?" I asked. "It's almost eight."

"Wow, really? It's that late already? How about we grab dinner and then go for a walk? I don't really feel like going back to the apartment just yet."

I smiled. That sounded just fine to me. "Sure, that sounds good."

He put his hand on my back and together we walked through the crowd of people that were heading towards the theater.

The night was warm and clear, and if we had been back in Minnesota, the sky would have been layered in stars, but because we were in Los Angeles, there were only a few stars that we could see. Nonetheless, it was beautiful.

"I remember back in Minnesota on warm summer nights," James said as we walked down the sidewalk. He put his hands in his pockets, staring off into the distance. "We used to ride our bikes down to the lake and just lay there, talking. On the hottest nights we'd go swimming, but Logan would always freak out because there wasn't a lifeguard around."

I sighed. "I wish I had been old enough to go with you guys. That sounds like it would have been fun."

"It was. You would have loved it. It was quiet and peaceful, but it was always so much fun."

I laughed. "Nowadays we just sit around the pool and have a jam session. Not that that's not fun, but sometimes…" I trailed off and James turned his head to look at me.

"Sometimes what?" he prodded me on.

"I just wish I had had all those experiences that you guys had in Minnesota. I mean, I was twelve when we moved out, and I was just beginning to reach the age where I could go out with my friends without Mom freaking out every five minutes, but I never got the chance to do that." I watched as his face fell a bit and I realized he felt a little bit guilty. If it hadn't been for his dreams of becoming a pop star, we might still be living in Minnesota. "But I wouldn't trade what I have here, with you and the other guys, for anything," I quickly added. It was true too. Nothing could beat my relationship with Kendall and my friendship with Carlos and Logan and especially James.

"You're not talking about Kyle, are you?" James asked, stopping in his tracks. I halted too, and James took my hand, spinning me to face him.

My breath caught in my throat as I stared into his beautiful lash-trimmed hazel eyes. They were smoldering with something I thought I recognized, but wasn't completely sure…

"No," I managed to get out, still gazing into his eyes. "No, I'm not."

"How much do you like him?" he whispered. "How much do you _really_ want to be with him?" He pulled me closer so that we were body to body. I could feel his keys and his phone in his jeans pocket.

"I – "

We both leapt as a sudden buzzing vibrated from James's front pocket. "Crap, my phone," he muttered and he dug it out. "Okay, its official," he said, gaping at his phone's screen. "Your brother has gone insane with love for Jo. He wants us to stop by a club that Jo and Camille are considering renting out for the bachelorette party."

"Ummm…has he forgotten that I can't legally get into a club? Somehow I doubt they're considering an under-21 place."

"You could get in…I was waiting until your eighteenth birthday, but…you're in luck, I have something for you. Come on." He took my hand and together we walked in the direction of the parking lot.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded. "What on earth – ?"

We reached the car. James unlocked it and instead of getting in on the driver's side, he walked around to the passenger's side and opened the door. He knelt on the seat and opened the glove compartment, pulling out a deep purple envelope with turquoise writing on the back: **For Katie**.

He handed it to me and I cautiously opened it. Inside was…

"YOU GOT ME A FAKE ID?" I screamed at him.

He quickly dragged me into the car with him, so I was half on him and he was forced to lie down so that he was half on the passenger's side, half in the driver's seat, his back arching against the gear selector. "Calm down," he whispered. "Carlos and I got it for you, it was supposed to be a birthday present, but it seems like you're going to need it now."

"Why the hell – if Kendall or Mom knew – !"

"Kendall and your mom both have their own cars, so the glove compartment seemed like a pretty safe place. As for the _why_ question, we all went out and got fake IDs when we turned eighteen, so we thought you should have the experience as well."

"And when Kendall asks how you managed to smuggle me into the club – ?" I demanded in a low voice, ignoring the fact that my hands were on his chest and his heart was pounding against my fingers.

"Then I'll tell him the truth," James said calmly. "He probably won't freak out too much, not when Carlos, Logan, and I remind him that he had a fake ID when he was eighteen, and when I bring up the fact that he's the one who made it necessary to give you yours two months early."

I sighed and tried to move my hands so that they were on the seat and not on James's chest. Instead, I just fell forward and James's arms wrapped around me, pushing me down on him.

"You know," I commented. "Not that I'm not enjoying this and everything, but this is kind of an uncomfortable position. I'd stay like this if I could, but I'm not thrilled with not being able to balance myself with my hands."

He choked out a laugh. "Yeah, well considering the gear selector is trying to stab me, I'd say it's a good idea if we get out of the car now."

I backed off of him and slid to the ground, and he scooted out after me, rubbing his back where the gear selector had been pressing against him.

"So how about we head to the club now?" he suggested. "Maybe we can grab something to eat there."

"Okay. But I should probably redo my makeup before we go in, I'm looking a little…nondescript right now."

James grinned. "Katie, you could never look nondescript. You're beautiful."

I shook my head. "You always say that."

"Because it's true. And I'll never stop saying it. Now get back in the car."

I slid into the passenger's seat. It was warm from James's body…Okay, quick, think about something else…

"So where is this club at anyway?" I asked as he got into the car.

"I was just about look it up," he told me as he got his phone out once again. He Googled the name and a moment later nodded in satisfaction. "Not too far from here, but it looks like the parking sucks. I'm going to have to park a couple of blocks away."

"What's it called?"

"Neon Lights," he answered as he slipped the keys into the ignition and started the car up.

"What do you think it's going to be like?" I asked nervously.

He glanced over at me before jolting the gear from park to reverse. "Noisy. Way too many people. I don't recommend it if you have claustrophobia."

"You'll stay with me the entire time, won't you?" I inwardly cringed at how young and scared I sounded.

He smiled sweetly at me before placing his hand on the back of my seat and rotating his body so that he could back out of the parking space safely. "Of course. I'd never let you loose in a place like that. You might end up conning all the creeps out of their hard earned money."

I snickered at that. "You always think the worst of me."

He straightened out and shifted the gears into drive. "And I have good reason to," he replied with a smirk. "You once tricked me into signing a contract saying that you have never had a crush on me. And yet…"

"I didn't have a crush on you when I was thirteen," I argued. "It was only when I was fourteen." And now, at this moment, right here.

"Why did you like me?" he asked. He glanced quickly at me as he pulled out onto the main road.

I shrugged. "I don't know. You were nice. You treated me like someone other than Kendall's younger sister. You hung out with me. You were protective of me. You were cute. You had a good singing voice. You could dance. You were really well built. You were my friend."

James bit into his lower lip. "So you thought I was cute and well built?"

I couldn't help it – I cracked up laughing. "Yes James, I did. I still do."

"I'm only cute?"

"You are so vain. Okay James, you're hot, gorgeous, handsome, smoking, smoldering, good looking, a sex God, you make me want to scream in ecstasy when I look at you. How's that?"

He winked at me. "Absolutely perfect. Just like me, apparently."

I slapped his arm. "Like I said, VAIN! You're the one who got upset because I said you were cute. And oh my God, you're totally flirting with me!"

"Who? Me? I would never!"

"Oh yeah right. You jackass, you were totally hitting on me!"

"Oh puh-leeze, if I was hitting on you, I would have used one of those pickup lines that you girls always seem to have comebacks for. Like, say, I would die happy if I could see you naked."

I immediately shot back, "If I saw you naked, I'd probably die laughing."

"Like I said, you girls always seem to have a comeback for those pickup lines."

"Because they're used so much we had to come up with something to say besides the typical _fuck off_."

James just shook his head, laughing, as he turned into a parking lot and pulled into a space.

"So," he glanced at me. "You ready?"

"Hang on," I said, and pulled out my makeup to touch it up. James just rolled his eyes.

"I want to make sure I look as close to twenty-one as I possibly can," I explained as I swept the eyeliner pencil under my eyelashes. "I may still not be let in if I don't look close to twenty-one."

I finished up my makeup and looked at James. "I'm ready. Let's go."

We got out of the car and James led me in the direction that the club was. After about five minutes of walking, we reached the building the club was held in. There was a short line outside the club. We stopped at the back of the line and I took the chance to slip the ID into my wallet. I unbuttoned my plaid shirt and tied the tails an inch or so under my bust line, revealing my brown lace cami. I was hoping that it looked sexier like that, although it seemed like if I was going to look sexy in this place, I would have to forgo the camisole.

James of course looked absolutely fantastic in his dark rinse jeans and t-shirt. He had that I'm-so-cool-I-don't-even-have-to-try look going for him, and it worked. I could never achieve that appearance, so instead I had to go for the sexy-tomboy appearance. Hopefully it worked for me.

James glanced at me and took my hand. "Relax, you look stunning."

"I guess…"

"Trust me, none of the guys will be able to look away from you."

"Even though I'm not half naked?"

"Hey, in your case, more is less."

I looked at him sharply but he just stared back at me, his eyes wide and innocent. Okay then…

We eventually reached the bouncers. He glanced at James and then at me. "ID?" he requested of me.

I pulled the fake ID out of my wallet and handed it to him. He took one look at it and then handed it back to me.

"Go on in."

YES!

James tightened his grip on my hand and we walked in through the doors. "If that hadn't worked I could probably use my star power over him, but I knew he would totally buy it."

"Is this one of those places where you're let in if you're on the A-List?" I asked him, feeling slightly naïve.

He shrugged. "I have no idea. I don't usually go club-hopping."

The club was just like what you see on TV. There were spinning disco balls hanging from the ceiling, casting multicolored lights all over the floor and walls. Dance/pop music was blaring from invisible speakers, people were dancing and grinding on each other, and at the far end of the room was a long bar.

James and I exchanged a look, eyebrows raised, before diving into the crowd. A Miley Cyrus song was blasting, echoing off of the walls.

I felt James's fingers tight around my own as he dragged me through the throngs of half-drunk people who had no idea that they were dancing off-beat.

We finally reached the bar and we both sat down wearily on a stool. James snapped his fingers at the bartender and with a glance at me, said, "Two cherry Cokes."

The bartender looked confused at the nonalcoholic-drink request, but nevertheless pulled out two cans of the soda and slapped them down in front of us. James slipped a ten-dollar bill across the counter to him and the bartender grinned.

"So this is a dance club," I commented as I popped the can open. "So far, I'm not seeing the fun in it."

I took a sip, listening to the rap song that was now playing.

"They need to play Big Time Rush," I commented.

James smirked. "I don't think our stuff's really club material."

"The same could be said for Miley Cyrus. What happened to techno beats? I thought they played those in clubs."

"Once again, I don't go down to clubs, so I have no idea."

"How long do we have to stay here?"

"Until we finish our cans, and then we can get the hell out of here."

"Sounds good."

I was halfway done with my can when a slow song came on and everyone immediately slowed down. James slammed the rest of his Coke down and held his hand out to me. "Dance?"

I smiled and took his hand. He led me onto the dance floor and slid his arms around my waist. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, and we swayed gently to the rhythm. I couldn't think of anything to say, and somehow it just seemed wrong to ruin the moment with pointless chatter, so instead I just rested my head on his chest, enjoying the feeling of his hands on my back and wishing that the song never had to end.

"Kyle doesn't deserve you," James whispered so that I could barely make his voice out over the music.

I leaned back. "What do you mean?"

The song changed to Lady Gaga's song "Paparazzi". It was still reasonably slow, so everyone kept the same pace they had been dancing.

"I mean," he said, sounding frustrated, "he can't see how amazing you are. He doesn't deserve to have you."

"And who does?" I retorted. "Kyle's one of my best friends. If he doesn't deserve me, than who does?"

"Someone who doesn't just suddenly like you because you have a boyfriend. Someone who likes you for you."

"And who would that be?"

Before James could answer, there was a scream.

"I KNEW IT!"

We whirled around to find Jett and Courtney shoving people aside to get to James and me.

"I KNEW THEY WERE DATING!" Courtney screamed.

"WE'RE NOT DATING!" I shrieked back.

"THEN WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING HERE?"

"WE'RE CHECKING THIS PLACE OUT FOR JO TAYLOR'S BACHELORETTE PARTY!"

Courtney rolled her eyes. "That is such a lame excuse."

"So what're you and Jett doing here?" James retorted. "Need a new place to have sex?"

Courtney didn't even have the grace to look ashamed. "No! We're here to have fun and maybe get our picture taken making out on top of the bar."

Since Courtney has no sense of humor, she was completely serious. Unfortunately, that wasn't good for James and me.

"The paparazzi's here?" James yelped.

Jett shrugged and ran a hand through his short hair. "Not yet. But they should be arriving once word gets around that Courtney Hill and me, Jett Stetson – " he paused to strike a pose and flash a set of bleached out teeth – "are here. And I suppose, once they hear that James Diamond of Big Time Rush and Katie Knight, Kendall Knight's little sister, are here together." He paused before continuing on. "And maybe they'll even hear that you two were caught having sex behind the bar."

I straightened up. "If you do that, then I'm going to make sure every magazine, every news channel, and every gossip blog knows that you, the infamous Jett Stetson, is a sex addict. And they might even here that you and Courtney had sex in a public restroom."

Jett paled. "You wouldn't!"

"Oh, I so would," I hissed at him. "So you keep your mouth shut and stop with the ridiculous lies, and I won't tell everyone the truth about you."

Jett blinked. "What lies?"

"The rumors about me being into pain."

"I didn't start those."

Courtney tossed her hair. "But I know who did."

"Great. Who did?"

"The guy standing right next to you."

I looked at James. "Uh, James is the only one who's next to me."

"Exactly. My friend said that she passed him talking on the phone. Apparently he said something like, 'Yeah, Katie's gotten so used to being a masochist when it comes to boys, when she finally has sex, she's probably going to want to make sure whips and handcuffs are involved."

Even in the multicolored lighting, I could see James's face go pale. "But I – that was just – I didn't mean it like that!"

I rounded on him. "Oh yeah? Then how the hell did you mean it?" How dare he! How could he make a comment like that about me?

James backed up. "I – I was referring to you and Kyle! I was just making an offhand comment to a friend back in Minnesota, I didn't mean that you would actually be into that sort of stuff! I know you never would be!"

I advanced towards him slowly. "I cannot _believe_ you started the rumors about me!"

"I didn't – Courtney's friend started them! She's the one who jumped to conclusions!"

"But you got the ball rolling!"

"Not intentionally! Katie, I'm sorry, I thought I was by myself in the lobby, I had no idea anyone was around!"

"You better run," I said in a low, deadly voice. "Because I'm going to fucking kill you!"

James took my advice and ran for it, but I immediately dashed after him. Being a good foot smaller than him, I was able to squeeze through people much easier than he could, and soon caught up with him. I cornered him by the bar. He yelped and jumped over the barrier, and I followed, tackling him to the floor. I was sitting on his stomach, holding his arms over his head as he pleaded with me.

"Just tell me what I can do to make it up to you!" he cried. "I never even thought about what I was saying! I was just being a jackass, but if I had known someone was around, I never would have said anything like that! I'm sorry! Please forgive me! I don't want to fight with you! I lo – "

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a loud snap and a flash of light.

We both looked around and found a couple of paparazzi photographers hovering over the bar with their cameras. Shit.

Jett and Courtney were standing back, smirking.

"Wow, Katie, this must be a total turn-on for you!" Jett called to me. "You love anything kinky, right? And James, you must be enjoying this, you love having sex with Katie Knight – _Kendall Knight's little sister_ – in public places, right?"

Courtney cackled. "He moaned her name when he was trying to have sex with me! But he couldn't even perform. Maybe if he had a picture of her brandishing a whip…"

Oh, they were so going down.

"Jett Stetson's a sex addict!" I cried. "And he and Courtney Hill had sex in a public restroom!"

"But he's getting therapy for it," James added. "Unfortunately, he's going to need to be tested for STDs."

The paparazzi looked as if they had just found a couple million dollars on the club floor. Celebrities accusing other celebrities of various sexcapades were what sex is to Jett or a shirtless James is to me. They were nearly drooling over the news and the pictures that they had no doubt gotten of James and me. Speaking of which…

I crawled off of James and he got up. "I don't suppose we can buy the story from you?" he asked half-heartedly.

The paparazzi glanced at each other and then smirked evilly.

"Not a chance," the male paparazzo said. "But thanks for the stories!"

And they pushed their way through the crowd, before any of us could stop them.

Great. I had a feeling that the next morning we would find our faces all over the internet with various headlines about our so-called sex lives. Mom and Kendall would be so proud.

* * *

><p><strong><em>So, um, how was the chapter? Was there enough Jatie moments in it? Enough humor? Enough entertainment? I have no idea what clubs are like because I don't go to them, so the club scene was completely winged, but hopefully it was okay.<em>**

**_Questions? Comments? This chapter was kind of fluffy, and it was more of a filler, but there's some stuff in here that will lead to the next chapter, so it was kind of important. And I was planning on having James be the one who accidentally made a comment about Katie in front of the wrong person without even realizing he'd done it. Please don't hate me for it! It just seemed like an interesting twist to things._**

**_So the review button...yeah, it's been eating a lot of pizza and cheeseburgers lately, and it seriously needs to be exercised, sooo...if any of you wanted to press it, that would make the review button (and me!) very happy ;)_**


	11. Chapter 11 Time To Save Our LivesAgain!

_**Ladies and gentlemen, may I present...Chapter 11!**_

_**Disclaimer: Oh yeah, I totally own Big Time Rush. Just like I totally came up with the idea of chocolate and rock music...Oh, wait...I didn't! NOOO! All my dreams are crushed now! Ruined! Buried! As you can probably tell, I don't own Big Time Rush.**_

_**Warnings: Language and sexual themes**_

_**And now...my thank yous to those who I couldn't PM:**_

_**musiclover: Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you liked that part! And oh yeah, a major cliffhanger...and Kendall's reaction...:)**_

_**mo-rizzle: Thank you so much for your review! And thank you! I'm happy you enjoyed the chapter! Well thank you very much! Jett's a complete jerk in the show anyway, but I just amp up his basic jerk-ish-ness. Well, we can't rule out Kendall committing murder, although he probably won't go that far ;)**_

_**M.G.N: Thank you so much! I'm glad it cracked you up...and...uh...that mistake...Wow...Um...Oopsies? Haha, thanks for being so nice about it, and I'm glad you got a good laugh out of it! :)**_

_**The Anonymous Reviewer: Thank you so much for your review! Haha, no they can't, someone or something always interrupts them. Yeah, I think there's a certain degree of irony there...:)**_

_**HUGS, KISSES, AND THANK YOUS GO OUT TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED, FAVORITED, OR ALERTED THIS STORY! You guys make me feel special, so thank you ;)**_

_**So, as a couple of people very politely and kindly pointed out, in the last chapter I accidentally wrote Kendall SCHMIDT instead of Kendall KNIGHT. Incase you noticed it, that was (obviously) a typo, so...ummm...if you just ignore it, I would greatly appreciate it. But if it makes you laugh, then I'm glad you can see the humor in it :)**_

_**So, this chapter is a major turning point in the story, and it's kind of the first part of the climax, although it's definitely not the ending.**_

_**So, as they say...Enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11 – Time to Save our lives…Again!<strong>

**James's POV**

I couldn't believe I had done it. I couldn't believe I was the reason the rumors about Katie had started. I couldn't believe I had been such a jackass that I had made that sort of comment to someone and not even bothered to think about what I was doing. What the hell was wrong with me? Did I just _like_ making life miserable for those who I cared the most about? I was the worst friend ever.

I really wish Katie had punched me, but instead all she did once the paparazzi left and Jett and Courtney oozed away was look at me and say, "Take me home please."

I nodded and made to take her hand so that I could lead her through the crowd in the club, but she pulled her hand back. "Don't touch me." Her gaze was cold and her voice was even icier.

"Okay. But stay close. I don't want to lose you in here."

I led her through the club and out the door. Once we were outside, I waited until she caught up with me before continuing to walk towards the car.

"Katie, I'm so sorry – "

"Save it."

"But I really am – "

"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!" she screamed at me, whirling to face me. "Thanks to you, within about an hour, the entire world is going to think that I'm into bondage! Do you really think your apologies are going to make a difference at this point?"

"But Katie – " I could hear the whimper in my voice, and I didn't try to disguise it.

"Just. Take. Me. Home."

"All right," I sighed and continued to head for the car.

It was hard to believe that just an hour ago we had been walking towards the club, the best of friends…and maybe close to something more…

We finally reached the car and I unlocked the doors. Katie slid into the passenger's seat and crossed her arms, looking out the window, as I got into the driver's seat.

I glanced at her furious profile and felt my head drop. Kendall was right. I really am a fucker. I always fuck up everything, no matter what. And this time, I had fucked up my relationship with Katie…maybe for good.

I started the car up and pulled out onto the road, trying not to cry. I couldn't even imagine the hurt and betrayal Katie must have been feeling. All I knew was that I was beyond ashamed and angry with

myself. But for Katie it had to be a hundred times worse.

We finally reached the Palmwoods, and Katie immediately jumped out of the car and dashed for the hotel, leaving me to walk slowly towards the lobby, hands stuffed in my pockets. I saw her go in through the doors and paused, not wanting to crowd her.

I closed my eyes and bowed my head, letting the tears fall. I was so furious with myself I wasn't sure if I could stand it. I sank down to the ground, pulling my knees up to my chest, and wrapping my arms around my legs, shaking and sobbing, and wondering what Katie was doing at that moment. Probably making a voodoo doll of me and sticking pins in it. And I wouldn't blame her. I deserved it.

Eventually I managed to stop crying and dragged myself to my feet, slowly walking into the lobby. A movement outside in the pool caught my eye and I turned, just in time to see Katie break the surface of the water, slicking her hair back and gasping for breath.

* * *

><p><strong>Katie's POV<strong>

The ride home was complete torture. I was in total shock. I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that James – _my_ James, the James that called me Batie-Bear, the James who I had fallen for, the James who I had known since I was born – had said something so terrible about me. I wasn't even upset about the rumors, or about the fact that by this time there were probably stories up on all the online gossip blogs saying that I was in training to be a dominatrix. What I was hurt about the most was the fact that he _had_ said that, that he had made a comment about that, and hadn't even thought anything about it.

After what felt like the longest car ride in the history of longest car rides, we finally pulled into the parking lot of the Palmwoods. I immediately unlocked the door and shot out, not bothering to wait for James to even turn off the ignition.

I ran for the lobby, but just as I pushed through the doors, I paused. I could see the Palmwoods pool, the blue water reflecting in the moonlight. Perfect.

I changed direction and raced outside. I kicked my shoes off and yanked my shirt off, leaving my camisole and shorts on. I made a running leap and cannon balled into the pool.

I closed my eyes and held my breath as I sank down to the bottom, wishing that I could stay down there for the rest of my life. But unfortunately, I'm not a mermaid or Percy Jackson, so after about ten seconds, I swam to the surface. I pushed my loose hair back out of my face and breathed in.

I paddled to the edge of the pool and rested against the wall, biting my lip against the tears that I knew were going to come.

Before the first tear could trickle out, though, I saw the doors open and James step out. In the moonlight I could see his face. His eyes were puffy and red and his face was tear streaked.

"What're you doing out here?" I asked harshly.

"I – I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Would _you_ be okay?" I demanded.

"I meant – I don't know what I meant. I'll just – I'll just go."

"That's a good idea. Just leave! It's not like you care about me anyway!"

"Katie – !" my name came out in a strangled gasp.

I crawled out of the pool and walked over to him, the anger hitting me in the gut like a well-aimed punch. "If you really cared about me, you never would have said anything like that about me. You don't respect me, and you never did. So why don't you just fuck off?"

He grabbed my arm. "I _do_ respect you! I – I don't know why I said it. I don't even remember what I was thinking when I said it. All I know is that I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you keep saying that. You say that a lot. And I'm kind of getting tired of hearing it come from you because you're trying to figure out how to clean up the mess you made. And believe me James, you are _really_ good at making messes."

"I know."

"Is that all you can say? _I know_?"

"Well, what else am I supposed to say? I can't apologize, and all I can think of is to say how much I wish I hadn't said it! Katie, I care about you more than anything! I love you!"

I swear, my heart stopped. Time froze. I couldn't move. And then reality came flooding back.

I laughed bitterly. "You don't know what love is, and you never will!" And that's about the point I shoved him right into the pool.

He yelped as he went flying in, and surfaced a moment later, shaking the water out of his eyes.

"Feel better?"

"NO! I just want you gone! Out of my life! I never want to see your face again! _NEVER_!"

James swam to the side of the pool and lifted himself out, before walking over to me.

"Katie – "

I hauled back and decked him in the face. I didn't hit him hard enough to do any damage, but he still cringed and grabbed his nose.

But I wasn't done. I punched him in his stomach as hard as I could and he doubled over, wheezing a bit.

I stood over him, breathing heavily and ignoring the throbbing in the hand I had used to hit him.

"I guess I deserved that."

"You haven't even gotten what you deserve!" I screamed at him. "I HATE YOU, JAMES DIAMOND! I FUCKING HATE YOU!"

And that was the last straw. I burst into tears, my body shaking like I was having a seizure. James grabbed me and held me to him. "I'm so sorry, Batie-Bear," he murmured into my hair. "I'm so sorry."

I struggled against his grasp for a few seconds, but then all the strength just seemed to seep out of me and I collapsed against him, sobbing harder than I could ever remember. "I hate you! I hate you!"

"I know," he whispered. "I know."

"I hate you…"

"I know." I felt his body begin shaking against mine, and I knew he was crying too.

It took a little while for me to stop crying, but eventually I managed to calm down.

I stepped away from James and looked up into his face. He wiped a tear away from his cheek. "Katie, you are the most special and beautiful girl in the world, and I would do anything for you. I hate myself for what I did to you, and I'll never forgive myself. Just…just know that I'm truly sorry."

"I know you are." I glanced around, before saying, "I'm going inside. I'll see you in the morning."

And I walked away, leaving him standing, soaking wet, by the pool.

Once I was inside the dark apartment, I walked to the kitchen and grabbed an icepack from the freezer, holding it to my aching hand. It wasn't the first time I had hit anyone, but it was still a shock that my fist hurt as bad as it did.

Not wanting to see James when he finally got up to the apartment, I took the icepack to my room, and slumped down on my bed, feeling completely and totally drained. The reality of the situation was beginning to sink in.

_James started the rumors._

_But he didn't mean to._

_He still started them._

_But it was an accident._

_But he still implied that you were into bondage._

_He feels horrible about that._

_He shouldn't have said it in the first place._

_He admitted he was being a jackass._

_It's all his fault Courtney and Jett had something to use against me._

_But he never meant to hurt you._

_He still did._

_But he loves you!_

_But he_ – he did say that, didn't he?

I blinked. He had told me he loved me. But what had he meant by it? Did he mean, "Oh, I love you like a sister and I would never mean to hurt you" or "I love you as in I'm totally in love with you and I want to be with you and I'm broken hearted because I broke your heart"? What had he meant? AAAAGH! I shouldn't even be thinking about this right now! He had completely betrayed me!

_But he cried because he had hurt you so badly…_

I collapsed on my bed, wishing that this night had never happened. My only comfort was that maybe I would feel better in the morning.

* * *

><p><strong>James's POV<strong>

I don't know how long I stood there, but eventually it occurred to me that I was going to have to get up in the morning to help with the wedding preparations, and I better go to bed. I headed up to the apartment, not really noticing anything.

I dried myself off in the bathroom and stripped down to my boxers and nothing else, before climbing into bed.

I could hear Carlos's snoring from the next bed, but I couldn't sleep.

I kept replaying the entire day in my mind. There were moments when it had seemed like I might actually have a chance with Katie, but now…

My heart was breaking for her. I berated myself until I could no longer think straight, and I fell into a disturbed sleep, still thinking about Katie and the damage I might have done.

I was awoken the next morning by someone shaking me. I moaned and swatted aimlessly at them, trying to get them to just leave me alone.

"Come on, jackass, you need to get up," Katie said. She didn't sound as angry as she had last night, which was a good sign.

"Don't…wanna…"

"I will yank you out of bed if I have to."

"Go ahead and try…" I stuffed my face into my pillow. As much as I wanted her forgiveness, I was going on about four hours of sleep. But if this was how she got her revenge…

"Well, if you insist…"

The next thing I knew, the covers had been ripped off of my body and Katie had grabbed one of my bare shoulders, doing her very best to drag me out of bed. I turned my head so that I could look at her. She was scowling and muttering under her breath.

"I'm still waiting for you to pull me out of bed," I teased her, smirking slightly. It was easier to treat her normally now that she was no longer screaming at me.

"If I have to, I will dump water all over your head," she threatened. "I'm still pissed at you about those rumors, so right now, nothing is off limits."

I groaned and rolled over onto my back. I had known she was still angry about what I had said, but a huge part of me had hoped that she had forgiven me. "Katie, I'm so sorry for what I said! I don't want to go another week without talking to you! Just tell me what I can do to make it up to you!"

She smiled slyly. "Groveling never hurts. Neither does being pushed into pools."

Well, if she wanted to play that way…

I grabbed her wrist and yanked her down on top of me. Her eyes widened and my heart immediately began racing against hers. I waited for a moment, but she didn't protest or even try to struggle. Perfect.

I grinned. "Please, please, please forgive me! I couldn't live with myself if you didn't!" I flipped her under me so that I was hovering over her and held her hands above her head, squeezing her legs with my knees so that she couldn't move. "Please, Katie Knight, don't cut me off, I need you! You know I never meant to hurt you, right?"

Her chest was heaving and I could feel her pulse in her wrist beating rapidly against my fingers.

"I – I suppose…"

It was in that second that I realized how it would look to anyone who just suddenly walked into the room – a half-naked me hovering over a semi-dressed her. Oh wow…our current situation appealed to me a little too much…

I let go of her wrists and in a split second she was back on top of me, her hands on my chest and I felt my breathing pick up. "So this is how you grovel? You keep me trapped under you while you plead with me to forgive you? You are seriously messed up, dude."

My fingers enclosed hers and I felt a smile tug at my lips. "But that's why you love me, right?"

She blushed and didn't answer, and I flashed back to what I had said the night before: "_I love you_"... Instead she just crawled off of me and straightened out the tank top and cotton shorts that she slept in, which was probably a good thing, because…remember those _performance_ problems with Courtney? Yeah, I was kind of experiencing the opposite of those at the moment, and if Katie had stayed on top of me much longer, she was going to notice the issue at hand. Maybe she already had, but I seriously hoped she hadn't, because that would just be plain embarrassing. But there was no way I was standing up now. Instead I flipped over onto my stomach and waited for her to speak.

"Come on," she said. "Mom's making pancakes, and then Jo, Camille, and Mr. Taylor are coming here to continue arranging the wedding. Jo wants to focus on clothes, so we all need to be there, because she wants our input on the bridesmaid dresses and their escorts' suits." She paused before continuing on. "And _Kendall_ wants to focus on the music. He doesn't want Big Time Rush performing there, because he wants the night to be totally relaxing and leisurely; instead he's talking about hiring a DJ. But nothing's certain, because he and Jo keep changing their minds about _everything_. I'm beginning to think the baby's going to be driving before its parents' wedding happens."

I felt the blood begin to drain out of my – ahem – lower half, so I dared to crawl out of bed and straighten up. "Sounds like we've got a lot to do today."

"Way to simplify things, Diamond," she said. "And put a shirt on, Kendall will have a heart attack if he knows I came in here when you were half naked."

"You are really wired today, Miss Knight."

"I am? Oh, crap. I – I don't know what I'm saying – and – and – " she closed her eyes. "Kendall and Mom are getting crazier by the minute, and I think it's rubbing off on me."

I took her by her shoulders and lowered my head so that I could stare into her eyes. Her brown eyes were wide and had a bit of a wild look about them, no doubt from the pressure of planning a wedding that was happening in six days. "Breathe," I told her. "Just breathe. Relax. We're going to get through this." I paused. "Uhhh…has anyone sent out invitations yet?"

I swear, her pupils dilated. "OH SHIT! NO! Oh man…I've gotta go tell Mom and Kendall…Oh, oh, oh…"

And she raced out of my bedroom, leaving me gaping after her and wondering what the chances were that she was going to get to the wedding before having a heart attack.

I snatched a t-shirt up from a pile of clothes at the foot of my bed and slipped it on, before heading out to the kitchen.

The place was in absolute chaos. Katie and Mrs. Knight were on Katie's laptop, trying to choose a specific invitation to order from some print shop or other. Kendall was on his phone, trying to make arrangements to hold the wedding at a church not too far from the studio. "LOOK!" he was shouting into his cell phone. "I DON'T _CARE_ IF TWO-HUNDRED OF HIS CLOSEST FRIENDS AND RELATIVES ARE FLYING INTO LOS ANGELES TO BURY HIM, I'M GETTING MARRIED AND I NEED THE CHURCH THAT AFTERNOON!"

Carlos and Logan were on Logan's laptop, trying to find a decent catering menu from a decent caterer.

"Eeeeew, no way, who's going to want to have to shell crab legs at a wedding?" Logan was saying to Carlos.

Carlos shrugged. "How should I know? I wouldn't mind."

"You're also the one who thought that a floating fire truck was the coolest thing ever."

"THAT'S BECAUSE IT IS!"

Needless to say, tempers were running a bit high.

"No, no, no," Katie said to Mrs. Knight from where she was sitting at the breakfast bar. "We can't order those, they're all pink and gross – they look like Paris Hilton threw up on them."

There was a pan of uneaten pancakes on the stove. I snatched one up and bit into it like a sandwich without bothering to put anything on it. It was still warm and soft and smooth.

"What can I do?" I asked.

"Try to reason with the stupid church people!" Kendall roared. "They won't let me rent out the church because some guy died a couple of days ago and his family wants to hold the service there. I mean, can you believe it? _I'm_ still alive! _I'm_ getting married! _I'm_ having an effing kid!"

"Why don't we try to find another church?" I suggested.

Kendall paused in his ranting. "That might actually work. Okay, come on, the phone book is over here." He sniffed me. "Why do you smell like pool chlorine?"

Katie hid a smile with her hand.

I winced. Oops. I had forgotten about Katie pushing me into the pool the night before.

"I fell in the pool," I said quickly.

Kendall threw me a look that let me know he didn't really believe me, but he let the subject drop, which I appreciated.

Apparently the rumors about Katie and me and Jett and Courtney hadn't reached him, or anyone else in the room for that matter, yet. That was good. Now if only we could go another week without them finding out about the night before. That would be even better!

I followed Kendall over to the breakfast bar. The phone book was right next to Katie, and I squeezed in

next to her.

Kendall flipped it open and began scrolling through the C section. "Okay, here's a church that's only a couple of miles away. The phone number is – "

"Wait just a second! Why do _I_ have to call them up?"

"Because I've been dealing with stupid people all morning! It's your turn!"

With a sigh, I retrieved my phone from my bedside table and came back out into the kitchen. "Okay Kendall, give me the number…"

An hour later, I had called up approximately twenty-three churches. There were a lot of funerals and weddings for next Saturday, it seemed. I finally found a small church that had the afternoon free, because the funeral was a morning service.

It was a relief to get into the shower and ease some of the tension that had been building in my joints. Geh. Stupid people. And it was only ten AM! How the hell was I supposed to make it another twelve or fourteen hours? Aaaagh, the tragedy of it all…But…Katie didn't seem to mind when I pulled her down on top of me…Forget my previous complaint. Another twelve or fourteen hours in her company, with the possibility of flirting shamelessly with her? Sign me up!

I was suddenly very happy that Kendall couldn't read my thoughts, because otherwise he would have beat me to a bloody pulp. But I didn't really care. I was going to enjoy myself today!

* * *

><p><strong>Katie's POV<strong>

I stepped out of my bedroom in denim shorts, a t-shirt, and flip-flops, feeling much calmer since I had gotten out of the shower. James really hadn't helped lower my blood pressure that morning when he had decided to yank me down on top of him. Okay, I admit, I didn't exactly fight him, and I definitely didn't mind it. But…It was not a good time for hormones to come into play, and that's exactly what happened when I ended up on top of him. And I had the sneaking suspicion that his hormones had ended up running rampant too, due to a certain bulge in a certain place of his lower body…_Okay, okay, Katie, get your mind out of the gutter. _But he had totally gotten turned on. Heehee…maybe I was slightly desirable to him after all…

I had calmed down since the night before – I no longer wanted to kill him. After a somewhat decent night's sleep, I had decided that screaming at him wasn't going to solve anything. I was still angry with him, but I knew he hadn't meant to do what he did and that he wished it had never happened, and while that didn't change what had happened, it did give me a reason not to hate him, and that was what I had needed.

James was sitting at the table, looking through a list of songs that Kendall had written out to be played at the wedding reception.

My face immediately flushed as I replayed the entire scene from his bedroom in my mind. If pulling me down on top of him and then rolling me under him wasn't flirting than I don't know what was.

He looked up as I walked into the room. He had changed into board shirts and a t-shirt, not too far a cry from what he had – or hadn't – been wearing that morning.

Okay, focus Katie, _focus_!

"Jo will kill Kendall if she sees some of these requests," James griped as I took a seat next to him. He slid the list across the table to me and I picked it up.

"There is no way Jo will want any _Bullet For My Valentine_ songs playing at the reception," I groaned. "The girl listens to Colbie Caillat and Carrie Underwood. Somehow, I don't see her being into the idea of dancing to _Teardrops Don't Fall_."

"I know, but every time I try to reason with Kendall, he just tunes me out. He's his own worst enemy!"

At that moment, there was a loud rapping on the front door. James and I glanced at each other, and then I got to my feet and went to the door to open it.

Jo, Camille, and Mr. Taylor all stood on the threshold.

"How're the preparations going?" Camille asked brightly as Jo pushed her way into the room with Mr. Taylor following right behind her.

"Aaaagh…!"

"That good, huh?"

"Funny, Camille, absolutely fucking hilarious."

"Oooh, you didn't even come up with a smartass comment. Guess who's in a bad mood," Camille sing-songed with amusement as she slid by me. I let the door slam behind her.

"You would be too if you had to deal with stupid companies who think they're the next Hallmark," I complained.

"AAAGH, I'M GOING TO KILL KENDALL!" James screamed, still sitting at the table.

"You are not touching my fiancé and my baby's father!" Jo cried.

"Why do you want to kill him now?" I asked in alarm as I rushed over to him.

"Same reason as before," he said quickly, nodding at Jo.

"Oh, right, of course."

"Oooh, is that the music list? Lemme see!" Jo snatched the paper right out of James's hands before he could even move, and a moment later, she shrieked out, "KENDALL KNIGHT, GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!"

Kendall and Logan both came scurrying out of their bedroom, trying to yank shirts over their heads, their jeans still unbuttoned. Oh yeah, that was a pleasant sight.

"You called, dear?" Kendall asked meekly as he tried to get his head through the neck hole.

Jo brandished the paper at him like it was a whip. "WHY IS _THREE DAYS GRACE_ ON THE MUSIC LIST?"

He managed to get the shirt down and quickly buttoned his jeans. "You don't like _Three Days Grace_?"

James, Logan, Camille, Mr. Taylor, and I all simultaneously face-palmed.

There was another knock on the door at that moment. I dragged myself out of the chair to open the door.

Gustavo Rocque and Kelly Wainwright were standing there.

"Are the Dogs here?" Gustavo demanded gruffly, glowering down at me.

"KENDALL KNIGHT, I AM _NOT_ DANCING TO _BREAKING BENJAMIN_ AT MY OWN WEDDING RECEPTION!"

"How about _Anberlin_?"

"AAAAGH!"

I turned back to Gustavo and Kelly. "Yeah, they're here."

I stepped back to let them inside before closing the door behind them.

"So, your mom called this morning," Gustavo began, talking directly to Kendall. "She told us about the wedding – and THE UNEXPECTED PREGNANCY!"

Kelly glared at Gustavo. "We've talked about this," she said in a low voice. "It was unplanned, but you _do not yell at Kendall_." She turned back to us and added cheerfully, "So we thought we'd come down here and help."

"Really?" Kendall said with a look of fake-happiness on his face. "How…nice…of her not to tell me."

"She didn't want you boarding the door shut," Logan said to Kendall, just as Carlos stepped out of his and James's room.

"Gustavo…and Kelly…how nice to see you both…in our apartment…"

"Now say it like you mean it," Gustavo retorted. He was in a good mood today. If he'd been cranky, we'd all be cowering on top of the swirly slide while he shouted and threw furniture around and maybe tried to get his hands on some of our steak knives.

"So what can we do to help?" Kelly asked eagerly.

Mom came out of her bedroom, twisting her hair back in a ponytail. "There might be a problem with holding the reception in our apartment – Bitters might not be too willing. Could you by any chance bribe him into letting us have it here?"

Gustavo sighed. "I suppose. Kelly, write out a check. Let's go."

They left the apartment and Kendall and Jo immediately turned back to each other while the rest of us watched, half-amused, half-horrified that these were the people were supposed to be getting married and raising a baby.

"Now who would _you_ rather dance to at our wedding reception?" Kendall demanded.

"Justin Bieber?"

"There is no way in hell – "

"How about clothes?" I quickly interrupted. "We can discuss music later. Jo, James and I grabbed a catalog from that bridal shop down at the mall."

"I even bought her a dress that would work perfectly for the wedding, although if you don't like it, she can just wear it at the reception," James told Jo.

"Can I see the catalog?" she asked.

I grabbed the catalog from a huge stack of various papers and catalogs and menus on the breakfast bar and handed it to her.

She flipped through it, pausing at each page to admire the dresses. "Which dress did you buy, James?"

He got up from his chair and went over to her. He turned through the pages until he reached a particular one. "That dress. She looked beyond beautiful in it." He looked up at me and smiled, making my stomach flop around and my heart speed up.

"It is gorgeous…" Jo admitted. "And it is a summer wedding, and it would work perfectly…We could put Camille in a variation of the dress, with her being the maid of honor and all…And my costar, Bethany, would look gorgeous in it as well – she's my other bridesmaid." She thought for a moment, and then nodded. "This will work. I'll take Cami and Bethany down to the bridal shop tomorrow and have them fitted for the dress. Thanks Katie, thanks James, that just made my decision a lot easier!"

"Not a problem," James said casually.

"Now for the men's clothes…Kendall, have you decided who's going to be your best man?"

Kendall cleared his throat as all eyes turned to him. "I was actually hoping all three of you would be my best men. If that's okay with you, honey," he added quickly and Jo laughed.

Immediately James, Carlos, and Logan all coughed out "Whipped".

Kendall, Jo, and I all glared at them before Jo and Kendall turned back to each other, and Jo said,

"It's your choice, not mine."

James grinned and grabbed Kendall in a hug. "Of course we'll be your best men! Right guys?" he called over his shoulder at Carlos and Logan, who both leapt into the hug as well.

"Of course! What else are we going to do at your wedding?" Carlos cried, and Logan added,

"It wouldn't be a Big Time Rush wedding without all of us!"

"So, anyway, back to the best men's clothes," Jo redirected the conversation. "I'm thinking simple suits with gold ties and maybe a gold rose in the buttonhole."

Kendall nodded. "That sounds good. And your dress and my suit?"

"We'll decide separately. You're not allowed to see my dress before the wedding, remember? It's bad luck!"

"So the clothes are decided on? Great! Okay, so back to the music," Kendall insisted.

"How about we just play a mixture of pop and pop/rock songs?" Jo suggested. "Katy Perry, Simple Plan, Allstar Weekend, just a healthy mix, but nothing too heavy."

Kendall nodded again. "I guess that would work."

"Invitations!" Mom cried. "Kendall, Jo, come look at these. Tell me what you think."

The lovebirds went over to where Mom was set up in the living room with my laptop.

"I like this one – " Kendall tapped his finger against the screen, but Jo winkled her nose.

"Yech, no, that's tacky. How about this one?"

"No way, that's hideous. How about – ?"

The door opened again and Gustavo and Kelly walked into the room.

"Bitters is happy and he won't say anything," Kelly reported.

"If I have to keep on paying Bitters not to kick you Dogs out, Rocque Records is going to go broke," Gustavo grumbled.

"Thanks Gustavo, we really appreciate it," Mom said gratefully.

He nodded, just as his phone went off. He pulled it out and glanced at it, before beginning to spew out cuss words.

"JAMES! WHY THE HELL IS BONDAGE, SEX, KATIE KNIGHT, AND JAMES DIAMOND THE MOST SEARCHED FOR TOPICS THIS MORNING ON GOOGLE? AND WHY ARE THERE PICTURES OF YOU TWO AT A HOLLYWOOD CLUB, MAKING OUT?"

Kendall immediately dashed over to Gustavo and grabbed his phone. "Holy…" he was shaking. His face was turning red. His fists were clenched. "You two are so dead."

"It's not what it looks like!" James yelped out.

"We weren't making out!"

"YOU WERE LYING ON TOP OF JAMES!"

Kendall advanced towards us, backing us towards the front door.

"_What happened_?" Mom asked through clenched teeth.

"It was all a huge misunderstanding!" I cried.

"YOU TWO ARE HAVING SEX! AND THIS PICTURE AND ARTICLE PROVES IT!"

"Jett and Courtney were there…they were saying a whole bunch of – "

"DON'T TRY TO PUSH THIS OFF ON ANYONE ELSE, DIAMOND! YOU – YOU – YOU – !"

Uh oh. He was stuttering. That was a _really_ bad sign.

James and I glanced at each other, paused for a split second while Kendall came towards us, fists raised, and then he yanked the front door open and we both ran for it. We skidded down the hall, down the stairs, and into the lobby.

"Where to?" he yelped.

"I don't know!"

"You know, this is the second time we've had to run for our lives from Kendall after I acted like a jackass."

I glanced at him. "You're right. You really need to stop acting like a jackass, because at this rate we're going to end up getting killed."

"I'll do my best."

"Palmwoods Park!" I suggested, and we both ran through the doors and outside.

It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining and the temperature in the eighties, but I couldn't focus on that.

We didn't stop running until we were a good distance away from the hotel.

As we stopped to catch our breath, I looked over at James. "By the way, James, I forgive you."

His face lit up, and suddenly…suddenly…he grabbed me, pulled me to him, and pressed his lips against mine.

I froze in shock, but then something in my brain seemed to click and I kissed him back. His hands were at my back, holding me to him, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Wow…this was…I couldn't even describe it. It was better than my wildest fantasies. It was better than chocolate. And it was every bit as good as him shirtless.

And that's when my phone went off.

We jumped away from each other as my phone vibrated, and I winced. Perfect timing.

Avoiding his eyes, I pulled my phone out and saw that Scarlett was calling me. What the heck?

"Scar, listen, it's not really – "

"Kyle just broke up with me!" she wailed.

"Wait – what?"

"He just broke up with me, and I don't know why!" she was sobbing so hard that she could barely get the words out.

"But – but – I thought you said the relationship wasn't going to last very long anyway!"

"I – I was hoping that if I said it then – then maybe – maybe it would jinx it and our relationship would – would be okay!"

"Ohhhh…Scarlett, I'm so sorry. You honestly don't know why he broke up with you?"

"No!"

"Well, I'm going to find out!" And I hung up.

I stuffed my phone back in my pocket, absolutely seething. Scarlett had been a better friend to me in the last week than Kyle had ever been to me in all the years I had known him. How dare he break up with her! She sounded absolutely heartbroken, and at that moment I wanted nothing more than to punch Kyle in the face.

"Kyle broke up with Scarlett and didn't tell her why. And I'm going to go find out! No one does that to a friend of mine and gets away with it!" I began marching towards the hotel, and James kept pace with me.

"Katie, Kendall might be looking for us – "

"I don't care! My friend is heartbroken! I can't just let it go!"

"Katie – Kyle might have broken up with Scarlett because of you."

I froze in my tracks. That was what I had wanted all along, right? For Kyle to want me as much as I wanted him? And then I looked at James, whose lips were glittering with my lip gloss. My decision had been made the day he had comforted me when I had had my breakdown, and I hadn't even realized it. I was only going after Kyle because it had become a habit, not because I really wanted to.

"I don't care. I don't care why he did it. The point is that he _did_ do it, and I'm going to find out why. And if he doesn't have a good enough answer, I'm going to break his nose."

And with those words and renewed determination, I began stalking towards the hotel again.

I stormed into the lobby, up the stairs, and to Kyle's apartment. I banged as hard as I could on the door, and kept on banging until he opened it.

He stared at me in alarm. "Katie – what – ?"

"Why did Scarlett just call me, crying her eyes out, and telling me that you broke up with her and she didn't know why?" I demanded through clenched teeth.

Kyle shrugged. "Probably because I did just break up with her and I didn't tell her why."

How could he be so casual about that?

It was the way he acted like it was no big deal that pissed me off. And that's why I punched him right in his nose.

"OW! WHAT THE HELL?"

"That's what you get for acting like such a jackass and a man whore!" I screeched.

"I wasn't acting like a man whore!"

"Oh yeah? Then how is it that you go through girls the way other people go through tissues? How is it that you can break up with a girl and not even care that you broke her heart? How can you just stand there and look so innocent? How can you even live with yourself?"

"Because I know why I do what I do."

"And why is that? Hmm Kyle? Gonna tell me? Why do you treat girls like crap? Why do you treat me like that? Why are you such a jackass?"

"Because – because – I only date those girls to make someone jealous!"

"And who would that someone be, Kyle? Hmmm? Because I'd really like to know!"

"It – it doesn't matter! It never has! I can't have them! They'll never want me! They're already dating someone else!"

"_Who is it_ Kyle?" I asked through gritted teeth. "TELL ME WHO IT IS!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"FINE! I WANT YOU, JAMES!"

There was complete and total silence.

Wow. I definitely did not see that one coming.

* * *

><p><strong><em>So, who saw that coming? I know some of you did, at least after Chapter 7. And then a lot of you changed your mind after Chapter 8, but...it turns out you were right after all! And how about the kiss, or the "I love you"? Okay, I admit it, I had fun with that chapter. I've been looking forward to writing this chapter since I started the story, so hopefully I did it justice :)<em>**

**_On another note, my professors decided to band together and dump tests, one day apart, on me. Plus, I have a paper due in a week, but studying for the tests will probably take up some time, so I might not update for a few days. But with any luck, I'll have the next chapter up by Friday evening at the latest. I just wanted to warn everyone =)_**

**_So, the review button...It just got robbed of all it's review button money and could really use some comfort. And I want you to comfort it. And yes, I know I'm weird, but at least I've accepted it and refused help - it's been offered a couple different times :) So if you want to review and let me know what you thought about this chapter...I definitely won't be complaining ;)_**


	12. Chapter 12 Hot Water

_**Chapter 12 is finally here! I'm so sorry for the wait, but hopefully this chapter will make up for it :)**_

_**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Big Time Rush. If I did, Katie would be older in the show. But since she isn't, I obviously do not own the show.**_

_**Okay, I would just like to say HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY to James Maslow, even though the chances of him ever reading this are about one in, say, a couple billion. And those are the good odds ;)**_

_**Warnings: Language, sexual references (some of which are a little bit stronger in this chapter), and a mildly sexual situation**_

_**Wow! So many people reviewed! A total of 33, I believe! That's pretty amazing! Aaannnddd a few different people have PMed me, asking me when the chapter would be up. So I'm going to assume that people enjoyed the last chapter ;)**_

**_musiclover: Thank you so much for your review! A lot of people didn't see it coming. Oh, I could never do that! This is a Jatie fic, and I can't really see James with Kyle anyway, that just seems a bit weird to me. Haha, yes, James and Katie really are cute together! :)_**

**_M.G.N: Thank you very much for reviewing! Haha, I'm proud of you then! Sorry if I steered you wrong about the whole Kyle-being-gay thing, but I was trying really hard not to give it away (although obviously I didn't do a very good job ;D) :)_**

**_mrs. GARCIA: Thank you for your review! Yeah, it is a bit weird that Kyle likes James, but hopefully it's entertaining! Thank you so much! :)_**

**_ilovethus: Thank you so much for reviewing! Well, thank you very much, I particularly like the 'genius writer part' ;) Really? Wow, you're good, I was trying to steer everyone's suspicion away from Kyle's sexual orientation when they were eavesdropping, so nice job! :)_**

**_mo-rizzle: Thank you for taking the time to review! You're very welcome! I love your reviews! Well, I did my best to make James's reaction 'epic', or at the very least entertaining. Thank you! That is so sweet and so flattering! I seriously doubt I could do an episode of BTR justice, but thank you for believing that I could! :)_**

**_BriannieBee64: Thank you for your review! Haha yep, Kyle did shout out "I want you James!", you read it right ;) But I don't blame you for being shocked, it was definitely a major revelation, and I'm glad you're laughing over it! :)_**

**_OMG: Thank you so much for reviewing! Thank you so much! Haha, a lot of people were shocked that Kyle likes James. Thank you! :)_**

**_Crossover2013: Thank you very much for your review! And thank you! That means so much! Well, I hope this next chapter will be even better, so thank you for believing in me :)_**

**_Maslowloverbtr: Thank you for taking the time to review! Thank you so much! You weren't the only one, plenty of people were surprised when Kyle shouted that out. And thank you! Right now, I only have the paper to deal with :)_**

**_anon: Thank you for your review! And thank you! :)_**

**_Jatie 4 Ever: (Awesome name!) Thank you so much for reviewing! Oh wow! Thank you! That is so sweet! Well, if I could publish a Jatie romance book, I definitely would, but I don't think anyone would buy the story, haha. Thanks again! :)_**

**_If I haven't answered your review via PM or on here, than I'm so sorry, and I appreciate your review!_**

**_THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED, FAVORITED, OR PLACED AN ALERT ON THIS STORY! I love you guys, and I love knowing that people are still interested in it!_**

**_I really enjoyed writing this entire chapter, but I pretty much cracked myself up while writing the beginning. Incase no one noticed, this is the title chapter, and it's kind of the one that the entire story has been leading up to, so hopefully I did it justice!_**

**_There's going to be some shoutouts to authors who I know are reading "Hot Water" at the end of the chapter, just to let you guys know =)_**

**_Enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12 – Hot Water<strong>

**James's POV**

Wait – WHAT? _KYLE LIKES ME_? HE LIKES ME? A BOY LIKES ME? _HE'S GAY_? Oh my God! All those times I went shirtless in front of him…When I went swimming or tanning…With the water dripping down my washboard abs, glistening in the sun…HOLY SHIT! AAAAGH! I – I never changed in the men's locker room at the Palmwoods gym, did I? Because if I did…EEEEEWWWWW! He was checking me out the entire time I was tanning? And when I was rubbing sun lotion on Katie…did he want to be in her place? NOOOOO!

I was hyperventilating, my breathing fast and heavy, but still not quite filling my lungs up with air. OH MY GOD! Katie's best friend likes me!

Katie placed her hand on my shoulder. "Breathe in, count to ten, and then breathe out," she instructed, although she didn't sound like she was too focused on my breathing problems, not that I could blame her. After what she had just found out…

Kyle covered his face with his hands. "Fuck…James, Katie, I – I mean, that is to say – I never meant for anyone to find out like that. I was never going to tell anyone that I – you know – "

"Have the hots for my older brother's best friend, who just happens to be the same sex as you?" Katie asked, glaring at Kyle.

"Uhhh…Katie," I intervened. "Can you…uh…not mention _sex_?"

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Oh please, like I'm going to jump you right here in the hallway. If I was going to do it, it would be right after you got out of the pool. Water glistening off your abs…Spellbinding." He winked at me and I collapsed against the door across the hall from his apartment, my eyes wide, while Katie choked on her own spit.

Kyle snickered. "You guys are so easy. Do you really think I would tell you both all about my fantasies?"

Katie managed to swallow and scowled at him. "Considering you just said you like James, considering the fact that you're gay and you never bothered to tell me, I don't know _what_ to think of you!"

Kyle's expression immediately became serious. "I know, I'm sorry. It's just…how do you work that into a conversation? 'So I've got this date with this super-hot model and, oh, by the way, I'm only going out with her because I'm gay and I want to make your older brother's best friend, who happens to be super straight, jealous, and so that I don't blow my cover as Mr. Straight and Narrow?' I mean, it wasn't bad enough that I'm gay, but considering whom I have a crush on? Uh, no thank you."

"So you wouldn't tell me that you were gay because you didn't want to admit that you like James? That doesn't make any sense! I wouldn't have needed to know who you jack off to."

I cringed. "Uh, Katie, not helping the situation."

Katie just brushed me off with a wave of her hand.

Kyle blushed. "Thanks for putting it into such…_graphic_…terms."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Sorry. Anyway, my point is, you wouldn't have had to tell me who you like."

"But you would have wanted to know. You would have been so excited and so encouraging and I couldn't let you think I had a chance with the mystery guy, especially considering how you felt about the mystery guy."

My ears pricked up. Forget awkward, this was getting interesting. "Wait, what? Backup there? How did she feel about me?"

Kyle shrugged. "How do you think? She had a huge crush on you! Still does, not that she'll admit it. And you always seemed kind of into her, once she hit her mid teens. I figured that the reason she never dated anyone was because she was so hung up on you."

"Not exactly…" Katie mumbled, while my face felt like it was going to split into half from grinning so hard.

"So Katie, tell James who you think about when you…? How did you so eloquently put it? Oh yes. _Jack off_."

Kyle was smirking and I knew he was enjoying his moment of revenge while Katie's face turned to the color of an overly-ripe tomato.

"Screw you," she hissed at him.

"Come on, Katie, don't be like that. I'm just dishing out the food you made."

"That makes no sense!"

"You know what I mean."

She sighed. "Yeah, I do. Okay, fine, so _maybe_ I like James as more than a friend, and _maybe_ I have since I was fourteen. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Because you would have never supported my crush on James."

Wow. I had been here throughout the entire conversation and I was still completely befuddled. Quite honestly, this had to be one of the weirdest conversations I had ever heard. And something about this conversation, besides the two people who were having it, was just off, but I couldn't think of what.

"I so could have!" Katie retorted. "We could have giggled over shirtless pictures of James together!"

My head snapped up. "You've looked up shirtless pictures of me?"

"NO!"

"But you admit you like my abs."

"Kyle admitted it. I didn't say anything."

"Especially when they're glistening with water," Kyle added, grinning.

I didn't even react this time. Something about the conversation just didn't make sense. And then it clicked.

"Uh, Kyle? You seem to be under the impression that Katie and I aren't…uh…dating."

Kyle glanced at me. "Oh, you guys are dating, right? _Fake_-dating?"

Katie blinked. "How did you – ?"

"Scarlett's anything but subtle. She tried to tell me yesterday what a jackass I was being towards you and proceeded to spit out 'You've driven her to fake-date – I mean _date_ – James Diamond!'"

"Well," Katie proclaimed, "you really are a jackass."

Kyle glared at her. "That's not the point. The point is…did I drive you to fake-date James?"

"You mean did you make me into your own worst enemy?"

"Listen," I spoke up. "Whatever is going on, this isn't the time or the place. Yes, Katie and I are fake-dating, but no, you didn't drive her to it."

Katie gaped at me. "How can you say that James? How can you even say that?"

"He didn't mean to, he had no idea, it probably never even occurred to him."

"What never occurred to me?"

The elevator door at the end of the hall slid open and Kendall, Logan, and Carlos tumbled out of the car.

"THERE THEY ARE!" Kendall roared. "JAMES DIAMOND, KATIE KNIGHT, I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU BOTH!"

I backed up. "Kendall, I don't want to run from you anymore. Just believe me, nothing happened like what the tabloids are saying. It's all one huge lie."

Kyle snorted. "I'll say."

Katie rounded on him. "Look who's talking!"

"Hey, at least I had a good reason! I don't even know why you and James are fake-dating!"

Kendall nearly gagged. "You two are fake-dating?"

That maybe wasn't the best thing for him to hear at the moment.

Kyle groaned. "You mean you never told him?"

Katie scowled at him. "Yeah, that would be an easy thing to work into the dinner conversation. 'Hey Kendall, can you pass the salt? Oh, by the way, I'm fake-dating James. You're not mad, are you?'"

Kendall didn't really seem to have much of a sense of humor at that moment, because he began spluttering. "O-O-O-OF C-C-OURSE I'M M-M-M-MAD!"

Katie rolled her eyes. "It was a rhetorical question. Don't strain yourself answering."

"Katie!" I yelped out and pulled her down the hallway and into a notoriously empty storage cupboard, out of firing range of Kendall. "He's already pissed off enough! Don't. Make. Him. Angrier."

Katie whipped around so that she was glaring at me, before grabbing me by the sides of my face and pressing her lips to mine. Oh wow. This was…I couldn't even begin to describe it. It was beyond incredible.

All thoughts of Kendall and The Face being smashed into a window flew out of my head, and instead I focused on kissing her back. Her tongue lapped at the entrance to my mouth and I opened my lips enough to let her tongue in. I shuddered as her tongue ran around the crevices of my mouth, and let out a low moan. She pushed me back against the wall, fingers fumbling with the bottom of my t-shirt while I cupped her face, running my thumbs along her cheekbones.

I felt her tugging my shirt up and I obediently lifted my arms up so that she could pull it up over my head. She dropped it, letting it pool on the ground. I ran my hands down her sides, pulling her closer to me so that we were body-to-body. I wrapped my arms around her waist and picked her up, her legs circling my waist. She pulled away, tracing my lips with her finger. We stared at each other for a full five seconds before she pulled my face to hers and kissed me again. I set her down and backed her against the cupboard wall, running my fingers through her dark, silky hair. God, she was amazing. I couldn't even process that this was really happening, it just felt too surreal, but I was okay with that. It fit the situation perfectly. I took my lips away from hers and gently pressed kisses against the side of her neck and sucked softly on her collarbone. She moaned, gripping my hair with her fingers.

I kissed her shoulder before moving back to her lips and she responded, pulling me down to the floor with her, in a tangle of limbs. She slid her hands down, over my chest and abdomen and I shivered at the feeling. I couldn't remember the last time I had felt like this, or if I ever had. This was…I could definitely get used to this. This was the best thing ever, better even than dinosaur chicken nuggets or hockey. Those things didn't even exist on this level. Only Katie did, and only this moment, in this storage cupboard.

Her fingers were at the buttons of my shorts when reality came flooding back to me. She was undressing me in a storage cupboard, with her brother and my friends and her best friend yards away.

I didn't want to stop kissing her, I never wanted to stop kissing her, this was too incredible, but I had a feeling that we would both end up in coffins if this continued. And that feeling intensified when there was a rush of air and a lot of swear words.

"Katie," I mumbled against her mouth and moved my hands so that they were on her shoulders. I gently pushed her away from me.

She stared at me for a moment before cringing and blushing. "Sorry, I got a little – "

"_Carried away_ would be a good term to use," Logan spoke up. He and Carlos were standing just outside the cupboard door, holding up Kendall who seemed to be on the verge of fainting. Kyle was cringing, standing a little ways back. They must have moved towards us when they didn't hear anything and had walked in on...

Ah. That was why I was still alive. He had gone into shock at the sight of his baby sister making out with his best friend while she proceeded to undress said best friend, and hadn't been able to move, much less tear us apart and try to smash my head into the wall.

Logan and Carlos were both pretty red in the face and when I glanced over at Kyle, he was banging his head into the doorframe. Whether it was in agony over what had just transpired between Katie and me or because he couldn't believe Katie had just done that, and that I had let her, I couldn't tell.

Katie and I untangled ourselves and stood up, panting and gasping for breath. There was a pause as everyone took in what had just happened, and then Katie stepped away from me and marched over to her big brother. "You see Kendall? _You see_? I'm not a little girl anymore! I'm going to be eighteen soon and if I want to fake-date James or kiss him in the middle of a hallway, than I will damn well do that and fuck your stupid rules and ideas of what I can and cannot do!"

Kendall managed to pull himself out of his frozen state and wrenched himself from Logan's and Carlos's grasp. "Yeah, you're _going to be _eighteen, you're still underage! And James is twenty-one! He's legal! You're not! And if he hadn't pushed you off of him, than you two could have had sex right in front of us! I cannot believe you just did that! I cannot believe you would go so far to prove a point to me that you would go so far as to – as to – " he broke off and looked around, his eyes landing on me. "Get dressed," he snarled at me.

"I'm still – "

"You're shirt's off, your pants are unbuttoned, and I'd kind of not like to know how turned on my sister ripping your shirt off made you."

I glanced down and cursed vilely. How had I not noticed? I must have been so entranced by Katie and then by hers and Kendall's fight that I hadn't been paying any attention to my body, otherwise I definitely would have made a run for the nearest bathroom to do some damage control. But man. What had just happened between Katie and me…I mentally shook myself. I couldn't think of that right now, I needed to focus on the situation at hand.

I quickly buttoned and zipped my shorts back up before grabbing my t-shirt and slipping it back over my head.

Katie glanced over her shoulder and smirked a bit, and I knew she was proud of herself, knowing the kind of reaction that she had gotten out of me. Well, what had she expected? What had just happened wasn't exactly an innocent peck on the lips.

We moved from the cupboard and back down the hall, back to the area around Kyle's apartment, while I did my best to think of Bitters in a bikini to get rid of my _problem_. Oh. Good. It was working.

"Katie, speaking from a male's point of view," Logan said gently, "what you just did to James was pretty mean. I'm not mad, but that wasn't a nice thing to do – to any of us, because we were yards away from you and knew something was going on, but it was worse for James and Kendall. Kendall had to witness it and James had to deal with the consequences afterwards."

"Logan," I protested, "it wasn't that bad, it's a pretty natural reaction." But of course, no one was listening to me. In my opinion, Logan was overreacting. Katie hadn't meant to do that to me, and it really wasn't the end of the world, I'd had to deal with that about twenty million times before. If it had been a stop-and-go thing, if she had stopped me halfway through actual sex…then I would have been able to see Logan's point of view, but because it had been so basic, I couldn't figure out where he was coming from. But then again, that's Logan, always overreacting.

"Don't forget me," Kyle grumbled out. "That wasn't pleasant on _any_ level."

"Yeah, I mean, think about what you did to your poor best friend," Logan said with a sympathetic nod and walked over to Kyle, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"That wasn't the only reason that was disturbing," Kyle mumbled, before turning to Katie and demanding, "What the hell was that? Are you trying to rub my nose in the fact that you can have James and I can't?"

Katie's jaw dropped. "Oh, God, Kyle…I'm so sorry…I completely forgot…I'm still getting used to the idea…I didn't…Oh my gosh, I'm such a bitch…I'm so sorry!"

"Wait," Logan said, looking confused. "What do you mean that she can have James and you can't?"

Katie and Kyle ignored him.

"Was it really so hard to remember that I like James too?" Kyle cried.

I was really hoping this wasn't going to become a normal conversation.

"YES! Because I've always thought you were straight!"

"Well I'm not!"

"That much is obvious! But I didn't know that! God! No wonder you never showed any interest in me! You were fucking gay!"

"Plus I was trying not to pretend that I wasn't staring at James in the same way you were!" Kyle retorted.

"I think I'm missing something here," Logan said with a frown. "What are you two talking about?"

Once again, neither of them answered.

"So for all I know, every time you said you couldn't hang out because you had a date with some girl, you were really looking up shirtless pictures of James."

Kyle rolled his eyes. "That's you, Katie, not me."

"I HAVE NEVER – !"

"Accept it Katie! Just accept it! Accept that I'm gay and I like your older brother's best friend, who you just happen to like too, and have been fake-dating for the past week, and who you just made out with in a storage cupboard!"

Logan's jaw dropped. "You like James?" he asked Kyle blankly. "As in, you have a crush on him?"

"Did the 'accept that I'm gay' part not click in your head yet?" Kyle asked.

Logan immediately puffed himself out indignantly. "Well, it's a bit of a shock, considering I've known you since you were thirteen and you always seemed straight to me."

Kyle smiled bitterly. "I'm a good actor. I played my part well."

"Wow," Carlos said, beginning to laugh. "This explains why you never went for Katie, even though she so wanted you – "

"SHUT UP!" Katie, Kendall, Logan, and I all shouted at Carlos.

Kyle blinked. "Wait – what?" He turned to Katie. "What does he mean? What is he talking about?"

Now would have been a good time for an interruption. And we got one. The only problem is, it came in the form of evil: The elevator doors opened and Courtney and Jett stepped out.

"Ahhhh," Courtney cooed, "how's the bondage going?"

Wow. Things are really looking up.

* * *

><p><strong>Katie's POV<strong>

I couldn't keep my thoughts straight. I couldn't believe James had kissed me in the park, that Kyle had a crush on James, and that I had practically had sex with James in a storage cupboard, practically in front of my brother! And now we had Courtney and Jett here to liven up the situation, because goodness knows, things were beginning to get a bit boring around here.

I glared at Courtney. "Just fine. I just got a new set of handcuffs, and I've been using them to chain people to the ceiling when they _get in my face_!"

Courtney flipped her blond hair over her shoulder. "Jeez, Katie, you don't have to get all drama queen on me. I was just asking a simple question."

"That was not a simple question by any means!" I cried. "It's because of you and Jett that my brother now thinks I'm handcuffing James to my bed every night and having my way with him, when we all know if anyone was doing any handcuffing around here, it would be you with a police officer, hauling you off to jail!"

Courtney glanced down at her manicured nails. "I'm not really seeing your point."

"AAAAAGH!" I screamed. "I GIVE UP! I GIVE UP!"

"Katie, you never answered my question!" Kyle reminded me. "What did Carlos mean?"

And then another person came into the picture – Scarlett. She came dashing up the stairs, panting. "Jett! There you are! Come on, it's time for your Sex-Addicts anonymous meeting!"

Ahhhh, revenge is sweet.

"Sex-Addicts anonymous?" Kendall asked, sounding remotely amused for the first time since he had tried to kill James and me. "As in, you're a sex-addict, Jett? Wow. That explains a lot."

"DON'T KILL THEM!" and here came Jo and Camille. Oh great. Even better. Now everyone was here for the supreme humiliation that I knew was coming.

"Hey Jo," Kendall called. "Did you know Jett is a sex addict?"

Jo nodded. "Yeah, I did. He watches porn and he and Courtney are always going at it all over the place, including his dressing room."

Jett scowled at Jo. "Thanks! Thanks a lot! You just ruined my reputation!"

Kendall already had his phone out and was typing something into it. "This is the best news I've had all day."

"What are you doing?" Courtney screeched.

"What do you think? I'm tweeting, Facebook-ing, and texting it to everyone I know! Aaaannnnd that includes some major magazines."

Yep, he was definitely my big brother. I was proud of him.

Scarlett marched right up to Jett. "If you're late to your SAA meeting – "

"Calm down, Scar, you're overreacting."

"I AM NOT! I – oh, hey everyone." She glanced around and her eyes widened when she realized that everyone was there. "Kyle," she stated coolly.

"Hey Scarlett," he said nervously.

"Thanks again for ditching me like a month-old pair of shoes, I really appreciate it."

"Scarlett…look, there's a reason for it."

"Cool. What is it?" she crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down.

"I'm gay and I like James Diamond."

She laughed bitterly. "Oh puh-leeze, that is _such_ a lame excuse. If you can't tell me the truth – "

"It's true," I spoke up. "It turns out he really is gay and really does like James."

Scarlett's eyes widened. "So – what? You only dated me so that you could get a taste of the straight life?"

"Um, no, because I was trying to cover up my sexual orientation."

"Oh. Great. Thanks for filling me in on the fact that I was dating a guy who fantasizes about JAMES DIAMOND!"

James face-palmed. "Can people stop bringing me into this? This is getting really uncomfortable."

"That might be your hard-on, you know, on account of Katie practically having sex with you in a storage cupboard," Kendall countered.

Scarlett's eyes lit up and she beamed at me as I blushed furiously. I couldn't believe Kendall had just said that. "You go girl! Take control of the situation! So how far did you get?"

"She managed to get my shirt off and my shorts unbuttoned," James grumbled.

"It took you long enough to shove her off of you," Kendall griped back.

"Hey, I was in shock – "

"No, you were in ecstasy. You were enjoying yourself!"

"I am not discussing this with you!"

"And I still want to know what Carlos was talking about!" Kyle added.

"JUST SHUT UP!" I screamed. "Okay Kyle, you want to know what Carlos was talking about? I'll tell you. I've had a freaking crush on you since I was thirteen! When I was fourteen, I couldn't decide if I wanted you or James more. I switched back to you because James turned into such a player and you were a nice, decent guy who could make me feel like my skin was on fire but at the same time like I was nothing more than your pet dog. So maybe James was right – I _am_ a masochist."

"Huh?" Kyle asked in confusion. "When did James call you a masochist?"

"How do you think these rumors got started? He made some stupid comment to some friend and one of Courtney's friends heard and turned it into a full-blown scandal."

"Oh. Wait – so you have a crush on me?"

"Had," I spat. "I pretty much lost it a week ago, when James was there for me and you weren't. But wanna know the kicker? I asked James to fake-date me so that I could make you jealous, so that you would maybe, finally see me as a girl. But apparently you've always seen me as a girl," I realized. "That was the problem."

Kyle stared at me. "You – you and James were fake-dating so that I would want to be with you?"

"Yeah."

"Oh my gosh," Scarlett mumbled out. "So the entire time you were plotting on how to get my boyfriend out from under me?"

My hand went to my mouth in horror. "No! Of course not! I was waiting until he broke up with you! I mean – wow, that came out bad. I – I don't know, I don't know anymore."

Scarlett glared at me. "You must have been so happy to hear that Kyle and I broke up. Did you come running up here to comfort him and make him fall in love with you?" her voice was tight and I knew she was trying not to cry.

"No! No! Never! I came up here to kick Kyle's ass from here to Moscow for breaking up with you and not telling you! I don't have feelings for him anymore, I swear! And I could never steal him from you, I could never do that to you."

"I thought we were friends," Scarlett sobbed, "but you were really just scamming on my boyfriend."

I could feel my own throat tightening. "No, I wasn't! I want James! I wasn't – I swear – Scarlett, I'm so sorry!"

"I trusted you! I believed you! I thought you were my friend! But you weren't. You're nothing but a bitch, Katie Knight, you're nothing but a bitch!" And with that proclamation, she spun on her heel and stormed off, wiping at her eyes.

Oh wow. I had never given much thought to the consequences of James's and my actions, of our constant lies, but it looked like everything was exploding on us right then and there. We were in hot water, and it felt like it reaching boiling point.

"So you two were fake-dating?" Courtney confirmed. "But you still almost had sex in a storage cupboard? Wow, it's when stuff like this happens that I can almost believe the rumors I helped to create."

"So the stuff about those two and bondage and everything really was just rumors?" Kendall asked anxiously.

Courtney rolled her eyes. "Trust me, your sister looks too sweet and innocent and _virgin-like_ for anyone except her big brother to really believe that she would have a set of handcuffs and a whip hanging around her bedroom."

"There's nothing wrong with being a virgin," Jo snapped.

"Says the girl whose boyfriend knocked her up," Courtney snarled back.

"At least she's not a slut who'll do any sex-maniac in a movie theater bathroom!"

"So where was the baby conceived? I hope it was somewhere good."

"Screw you, Hill."

"Sorry, your costar already is."

Jett rolled his eyes. "Okay! That's it! Courtney, if your ass isn't back at my apartment in five minutes, I'm going to tell the tabloids all the places we've had sex."

Courtney made a face. "But Jett – "

"We'll live out one of your fantasies. But I really don't want to be stuck with all these lowlifes any longer than what I have to. Just come with me."

"Oh, all right." She heaved a heavy sigh, but followed Jett nonetheless.

"Right," Kendall began. He sounded calmer, more like the Kendall I knew, rather than the Kendall who was way too overprotective of me. "A lot has happened in the past hour. A lot has been said, and a lot has been done, and I think we all need some time to cool down – starting with James and me. James, we need to talk. I'm getting sick and tired of always being suspicious, and I need you to be straight with me. Katie…we'll talk later. Come on James." He grabbed James by the arm and dragged him down the hall towards the elevator.

Jo, Camille, and Kyle all turned to look at me.

"I think Katie and I need to talk," Kyle said firmly. "Jo, congratulations on the baby and the engagement. Camille…go prepare for your next acting role or something. See you both later."

Jo and Camille both nodded.

"Good luck," Camille muttered to me as she passed by me.

"We love you, no matter what," Jo murmured. "No matter what happens, you'll always be our Katie Knight."

I smiled, even though there was a huge lump in my throat.

Once Jo and Camille were in the elevator, Kyle turned back to me. "Come on Katie," he said gently, holding out his hand. "We need to talk."

I took his hand and we walked into his apartment. He led me over to the couch. "Do you want anything?" he asked anxiously. "We have iced tea and lemonade and Pepsi and cherry coke. That's your favorite, right?"

I smiled at the mention of my favorite soda. So he did know me after all. With everything that had happened in the last week, I had been beginning to wonder. "Sure, cherry coke sounds good," I agreed.

He opened up the refrigerator and pulled out a cherry coke for me and a Pepsi for himself.

He handed me the can of coke and we sat down on the couch together. I popped the can open and took a sip, watching out of the corner of my eye as Kyle ran his fingers through his hair nervously.

"I – I don't know what to say, Katie. Quite honestly, I never even considered the idea that you might have feelings for me," he admitted. "It's not that you're not pretty, because you are. But…"

"I'm a little too much female for you."

"Yeah, that about sums it up. Crap, Katie, if I knew…if I could control…I never asked to be like this. I never wanted to be attracted to my own sex. That was never something I wanted. And I didn't really have any problems until I was about fourteen, when I started to notice that I wasn't really looking at girls, but instead was looking at guys."

"Did you already like James?" I asked shyly, tracing my finger over the condensation on the can.

"No. Not until…not until about a year ago. I mean, he had always been really awesome and everything, and, well…" he chuckled uncomfortably. "You know as well as anyone that he's a good looking guy with a killer six pack."

I rolled my eyes. "You're worse than a girl. There's more to him than a hot body."

"Yeah, I know. But…I don't know…I did kind of the same thing he did. You know, dating around and stuff."

"In his case it was sleeping around," I corrected Kyle.

"Yeah, well…I was already paying close attention to him, but I kind of got it into my head that maybe he was doing the same thing I was. You know, covering up his sexuality. Obviously he's as straight as you can get, but…it was just my hope talking. And then, out of the blue, you were dating him. My best friend with the guy I like. And naturally I was jealous. And I acted harshly towards both of you. I said some pretty nasty things to you and said some pretty horrible things about him, and for that I'm sorry. But…I didn't want you with him. I just – it was painful, seeing you be with him when I couldn't be. Katie, I'm sorry. You're my best friend, and I should never have let a guy get in-between us, especially when he wouldn't look twice at me."

I stared straight ahead, thinking. "I'm sorry too. If I had known…I wish I had."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It just…it's not easy, you know? It's not easy telling people that you're gay. It just doesn't fit easily into a conversation." He paused. "But it must have been hard for you too. You liked me? And I was as incapable of liking you back as James is of liking me back. We were kind of in the same boat, and we were kind of the cause of the other's misery."

I choked out a laugh. "There's a certain irony in that. And that's seriously messed up."

Kyle grinned. "Yeah, it is."

I glanced at him. "Can I just do something? I know you're gay and in love with James or whatever, but…"

"You want to kiss me." It was a statement, not a question.

I nodded shyly. "I just – I spent most of puberty imagining what it would be like to kiss you. I'd kind of like to know."

He shrugged. "I guess that makes sense."

"I mean, if it would be weird for you, then I won't, but – "

And he leaned over and kissed me.

I kissed him back, waiting for the fireworks, for the explosions, that had erupted when I had kissed James. But there was nothing. It wasn't quite like kissing my brother, because that would have been beyond disgusting, but it was close to the equivalent of kissing Logan or Carlos which still would have been pretty weird.

I felt nothing. I had had a crush on this guy for four years, and we finally kissed, and I felt absolutely nothing.

That was both a relief and a disappointment, because I knew my crush was completely over. And that meant that a certain part of my life, a part that I had invested so much time and effort into, was done.

I pulled back and Kyle smiled slightly. "So how was it?" he asked.

"About as good for me as I'm sure it was for you."

"So nothing?"

"It was like going from Cheap Trick to Lil' Wayne."

"Which in Katie speech means that it was disappointing."

I shrugged. "Sorry. Nothing against your kissing abilities, but..."

Kyle's smile widened. "No, I know what you mean. It's cool, I didn't feel anything either."

"You didn't expect to," I pointed out.

"Did you?"

I bit my lip. "I don't know. I guess…I was kind of expecting to feel like I did when I was kissing James, but that didn't happen."

Kyle nodded. "That's kind of a relief. I'm glad you're not going to end up with a broken heart." He glanced down at his can of soda, a sad look in his puppy-dog brown eyes.

I sighed and wrapped my arms around him. "You'll move onto another guy soon. You're only eighteen, and crushes don't last forever. Soon, you'll see. You'll have a boyfriend or a new crush or something and that person will be able to return your feelings."

Kyle hugged me back and leaned his head against mine. "Thanks Kat. I'm thinking about going into one of those programs where they help people deal with their sexual orientation. Of course, that means I'm also going to have tell my parents and my costars and pretty much the entire world that I'm gay, but then again, enough people found out today that Star magazine probably already has a story up about it."

I laughed. "Maybe. But don't worry about it too much. You're my best friend and always will be, no matter what happens. If anyone gives you any crap about it, I'll hold their arms behind their backs while you hit them."

Kyle grinned. "Just like old times, eh Kates? Thanks. I know I've been a terrible friend for awhile now, so thank you."

I smiled back. "All in a day's work, my friend. And I'm sorry for acting like such a little bitch today. I was just in shock over your liking James and I was pissed off about Kendall treating me like a child."

"But still…you might just get the guy yet."

"Maybe…If my brother doesn't scare him off, and if he doesn't decide that I'm too much of a brat."

"He won't think that," Kyle reassured me. "He knows that wasn't the real you, that was just the confusion and anger talking. And he was pretty turned on when you, well, you know…"

I blushed and looked away from him. God. I hadn't even considered what I had done to James, yards away from Kendall. They both must hate me right now! The kissing was bad enough, but trying to have sex with him – forget _trying_, I had almost succeeded! I had acted in the heat of the moment, when I was so worked up about everything: My mind had still been rolling over the kiss in the park so my hormones must still have been racing – which wouldn't have been hard, because my hormones always ended up racing whenever James was nearby –, Kyle's sexual orientation and his announcement that he liked James, and Kendall was being so overprotective he was starting to suffocate me.

But what I had done was wrong on so many levels. Not only had I done it when my brother was just down the hall, out of sight with his friends and my best friend who had a crush on the guy I was doing it with, but James's reaction…That must've been painful. How could I have done that to him? How could I have done that to everyone? How could I have acted like such a bitch and a slut, just to get back at my brother? Had the sexual tension between James and me finally cracked, causing me to try to jump his bones?

Kyle hugged me again. My thoughts must have been showing on my face. "Tell me."

"What I did – in the storage cupboard with everyone so close – is bad enough. No one should have had to walk in on that, that was just disturbing. But – what I did to James – with everyone so close again – "

Kyle chortled. "Okay, so I've gotta admit, I was pretty much frozen in shock when you did that. But it wasn't that bad. I kind of thought you were just doing that to get back at Kendall, to prove a point, and I think you got it across. If you guys had been…you know…feeling each other up or whatever, that would have been way worse. That would have been disturbing to the max. But we are the ones who opened the door. We should have knocked or something. But James…that's just a natural guy reaction, he said it himself. He was kissing a pretty girl who was trying to get his clothes off. It could have happened to anyone. It was just a big deal because Kendall and Logan called attention to it."

"I think my hormones took over," I whispered. "I just…I felt like I lost control. I wasn't thinking. I was just going to kiss him, nothing more, and it felt like everything just…just hit me at once. I couldn't think. If I was this never would have happened…I'm so embarrassed!" I thought I had gotten rid of the lump in my throat, but it came back full force, and I let out a choked sob.

"Shhhh…" Kyle murmured into my hair. "It's okay. Sometimes people's emotions take over them. You messed up, but it wasn't without cause. Everyone will understand. They'll forgive you. I forgive you."

I pushed away a little and looked tearfully into his face. "And…James? Do I still have a chance?"

"Yeah, I think so. He didn't start screaming bloody murder at you, so that's a good sign."

"And Kendall?"

"He's going to have to accept that his baby sister is all grown up. Don't worry Katie, things will work out. Just wait and see."

I snuggled up to him. "I hope you're right, because I'm getting sick and tired of lying to everyone and having everything blowing up in my face and of having to put up with drama every time I turn around. I just want it over."

"It will be," he assured me gently. "Things will be just fine."

He sounded so sure. I just wish I could believe him.

* * *

><p><strong>James's POV<strong>

Kendall was silent the entire way back to the apartment, and I didn't try to start up a conversation, because that just felt too much like tempting fate.

Kendall unlocked the apartment door and we stepped inside. I closed the door behind me and Kendall jerked his thumb towards the couch. I walked over and sat down and Kendall followed suit.

"So…you agreed to fake-date Katie so that she could get Kyle to notice her?" Kendall asked.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"You approached me with a really similar hypothetical situation last week. Did that – did that have anything to do with – ?"

I nodded again. "Yeah, it had everything to do with it. We didn't want to lie to you about it, but we didn't want you to kill us, so we decided to try out a hypothetical situation instead."

Kendall pressed his lips together. "It was a nice thing you did for her."

I shrugged. "She's Katie. What could I do? She needed help."

"That day at the pool, when she was sitting in your lap. Were you two already pretending to date?"

"No, but that was the day everything kind of seemed to start. That was the day Kyle asked Scarlett out and he asked Katie to leave so that he and Scarlett could have some privacy, so she walked over to Logan and me and said that if I let her sit in my lap, she would help me beat Logan at checkers. She wanted to make Kyle jealous."

"And _Kiss and Tell 3_?"

"We went to make Kyle jealous."

"But when she was on your bed, after the movie…"

"It was as we said it was. The ironic part is that every time you walked in on us in an awkward situation, we weren't pretending to date, it just kind of happened."

Kendall shook his head, laughing. "Unbelievable. So until today I never really had any reason to be suspicious?"

I shook my head. "Never. Today…I guess things really changed."

"Did you two ever kiss when you were fake-dating?"

"No."

"So today was the first day anything remotely sexual happened between you and Katie?" Kendall looked beyond uncomfortable asking me this, and I could definitely relate to the feeling.

I glanced away, avoiding his eyes. "Yeah, it was."

Kendall nodded. "Do you have feelings for her?"

I knew I had to look at him, so I turned back to face him. "Yes. I do."

Kendall bit his lip. "I really hate the idea of you with her."

"Because of my reputation?"

"It's not just that. She's my little sister. You're my best friend. If something went wrong…I'd side with her, but you're my band mate, and things could get messed up so easily. Plus…well, it's like I said – she's my baby sister! I don't want _any_ guy touching her or kissing her. But I guess…You've definitely been a lot better lately. But if you hurt her – "

I raised my hand. "I promise, I won't. But I don't even know what's going to happen between us. She might not want anything to do with me. I really need to talk to her."

"And we're going to be pretty busy over the next week," Kendall added. "So you probably won't get a

chance." He shrugged. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll figure something out." He stood up and stretched. "But James, whatever it is you do, make sure it has nothing to do with sex, or – or – or anything like that. In fact, if you didn't even kiss her, I would be very happy."

"You're living in a fantasy world, Kendall, you know that right?"

"Hey, it works, because in my world, Katie stays ten years old forever, and you two never almost had sex in a storage cupboard."

"It wasn't _that_ bad!" I protested. "You're making it into a huge deal."

"James, you two were already on the floor, and you were nearly half-naked. What would have happened if we hadn't opened the door?"

I looked away from Kendall, blushing. "I don't know. I wish I did, but I don't, and I might never know."

Kendall nodded. "I guess that's fair. I hate what happened between you two, but I'm going to pretend it was just a nightmare. It's the only thing keeping your face intact right now."

"Ummm…okay…"

"And if you decide to go after her, I don't want to hear about your plans, because then your face really won't be intact."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Good. Now come on. I need to find a good DJ, and _you_ get to help me."

"Gee, thanks."

Kendall grinned as I got up. "You're welcome."

* * *

><p><strong><em>So, if my calculations are right, there's only two more chapters, plus an epilogue (yes, I'm doing an epilogue) left. Okay, now I'm sad, because I've enjoyed writing this story so much!<em>**

**_As of today, I became addicted to Lifehouse's song "Crash and Burn" (I was watching Castle and that song came on when Castle saw Beckett and Flemming kiss - it was so sad!) and Pia Toscano's song "This Time". Just some random information that actually has nothing to do with anything._**

**_I have to admit, I'm a little worried about the scene with James and Katie in the empty storage cupboard. I really hope I did it justice, but it was a tricky scene, because I couldn't figure out how intense it needed to be. I kept rewriting it, but hopefully it came out decent. And I'm also hoping that James's reaction to Kyle's outburst was funny and entertaining enough for everyone! I loved writing it and I was laughing the entire time I was writing the first page or two of the chapter, so hopefully you guys will get a good laugh out of it. :)_**

**_I know, I know, my A/Ns at the end of the chapter and I don't blame you guys if you don't read them, but for those of you who do, I have a few authors/stories who I would like to give shoutouts too (and encourage you guys to read said stories because they're all fantastic!), because they've given shoutouts to me and this story:_**

**_Kitty Howell: She's super sweet and always reviews my chapters, and I'd like to dedicate a mild Kogan moment in the last chapter to her, because she's a huge fan of that pairing! However...she also posted the first chapter of "High Voltage", a Jatie fic, and so far it's amazing! (Plus, for all you Kogan fans out there, there's a little bit of that pairing in there.)_**

**_James Maslow Is Mine: She's a fantastic writer and has mentioned "Hot Water" a couple of times on this site. Her Jatie story "Slowly Getting Cured" is amazing and so realistic!_**

**_unpublishedWRITTER: She gave me a shoutout in her latest chapter of "Big Time Gift Hunt"...which, I might add, is a super sweet, super adorable Jatie story._**

**_Multi-Shipper-Girl: She's a fantastic reviewer, and a fantastic writer, and has an eye for catching the realistic details. Her Jatie story "A New Addition" is very dramatic and extremely realistic!_**

**_.bigtimerush: She's another fantastic reviewer and her story "Big Time Game Night" is so cute! If you want some Jatie mixed with Kogan, I definitely recommend that story!_**

**_StrawberryCrush: She's so nice and such a good writer, and I'm looking forward to reading the next chapter of her Jatie fic "Pretty Little Liar" (hint, hint, nudge, nude, incase you're reading this ;D)_**

**_Bless The Broken Road: Another wonderful reviewer, and another wonderful writer! She's got the first chapter up of her Jatie fic "Summer Heat", and it's hinting at a fake-dating plot too (which I love)!_**

**_purplerocks13: Another awesome reviewer and writer, and she was so sweet to give me a shoutout in the first chapter of her story (not a Jatie fic, but still amazing!) "Love Pentagon"._**

**_So my point with all these shoutouts is to say...YOU MIGHT WANT TO GO AND READ THOSE STORIES...if you aren't already reading them, anyway._**

**_Wow...that review button hasn't been worked for awhile, so it's going to need extra love, and I'd love it if it got extra love ;)_**


	13. Chapter 13 Fight, Fight, Fight!

_**Chapter 13 is finally, finally up!**_

**_Disclaimer: If I ruled the world... I would totally own Big Time Rush...But I don't rule the world, so I don't own anything associated with BTR._**

**_Warnings: Language and mild sexual references (yep, we're back to 'mild' at the moment, this chapter's much cleaner than the last few chapters have been)._**

**_: Thank you for your review! I'm glad that scene made you laugh! Thank you so much! :)_**

**_BriannieBee64: Thank you for reviewing! Oh wow - I'm glad you've got a new phase ;) I'm happy you enjoyed that scene! Ahhh, thank you, and so am I :( I don't want it to end either._**

**_The Anonymous Reviewer (that's my name for you): Thank you for reviewing! Yay! I've got someone addicted to this story! My mission is complete ;) Castle is one of the best shows ever. Yay for you on finishing this story! And have fun at camp! :)_**

**_The Anonymous Reviewer II (not to get you and the other anonymous reviewer confused): Thank you for reviewing! Thank you so much! I'm so happy you're enjoying "Hot Water"! :)_**

**_Anigen: Thank you so much! Logan's pretty awesome. Yeah, me neither :( Thank you for your review! :)_**

**_A HUMONGOUS THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed, alerted, or favorited this story! And thank you for all the author alerts! I love every single one of you guys, you're all the most awesome readers EVER! AAAANNNNDDDD I reached 200 reviews! YES! I'm so excited!_**

**_I'm so, so, so sorry for the longish wait, I honestly didn't think it would take me this long to get the next chapter up, and it's not even super long! But I had a little bit of trouble with this chapter, and I don't think it's as good as I wanted it to be, so I'm really sorry about that._**

**_**_xxxBookwormLonerxxx: She's amazing, she's awesome, she's sweet, and she's appearing in this chapter as a friend of Katie's, so thank you so much! xxxBookwormLongerxxx - I really hope I did your character justice, and if you're not thrilled with how I wrote her, let me know and I'll try to change her character around a little bit in the next chapter :)_**_**

**_On another note, so many people mentioned that they started laughing when everyone bursted in on James and Katie in the last chapter, so I'm absolutely ECSTATIC that you guys liked it!_**

**_So I'm done talking for the moment, and enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13 – Fight, Fight, Fight!<strong>

**Katie's POV**

I eventually left Kyle's apartment and slowly made my way back to 2J. I knew Kendall was going to want to talk to me but I didn't want to have to face James. I had no idea what my actions and his meant for us. Were we together? Were we just friends with a little too much sexual tension? Were we merely acquaintances now who _still_ had a little too much sexual tension?

I finally reached the apartment door and gingerly placed my hand on the doorknob, like I was afraid that it had been doused in boiling water. It felt just fine and I cautiously turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.

I stepped into the apartment and quietly closed the door behind me, hoping that I could just escape to my bedroom, but of course, I had no such luck.

Kendall and James were sitting at the counter with Kendall's laptop propped up in front of them. Both boys looked up the second the door snapped shut. I met James's eyes and immediately blushed and I could have sworn that his cheeks were tinged red too.

"Oh good, here you are. Wanna be the tiebreaker?" Kendall asked, breaking the awkward silence between James and me.

"Depends," I said. "What exactly are you two trying to decide on?"

"Which DJ we should try to get for the wedding reception."

"Oh, okay, I guess I could do that."

I walked over to them and they moved apart enough so that I could squeeze between them. My arm brushed against James's and I felt as if my entire right side was on fire. I blushed and quickly squinted at the computer screen to see what DJs they were considering.

I scrolled through the playlists the DJs boasted that they had come up with began tapping my finger against the screen. "This one, DJ Rox. He's got some amazing playlists."

James punched the air. "Yes! Thank you Katie, you have the best taste in music _ever_!"

I grinned at him, and for a moment the intense make out session in the storage cupboard had never happened. "I know, but by all means, continue on, I love flattery."

"You're so modest."

"I'm more modest than you."

"Hey, it's not my fault I'm an absolute sex-god – as you have probably figured out…" The color rushed back in his face and on my other side Kendall slapped his hands over his ears and began screaming,

"La-la-la – I can't hear you! LA-LA-LA!"

And he's the one who's getting married and having a baby. Be very scared, world. Be very, very scared.

I punched Kendall in the shoulder and when he took one hand away from his ear to glare at me in annoyance, I screamed in his ear, "IMMATURE!"

"Ow," he complained, rubbing his ear. "That was mean."

I face-palmed. "Unbelievable," I mumbled through my fingers. "Un-freaking-believable."

"Katie, what's your favorite song on DJ Rox's playlist?" James asked, gently touching my wrist.

"Oh, ummm…" I quickly scanned it before answering. "Avril Lavigne's song _Hot_. He should play that at the wedding. It would be epic! Oh, and Lifehouse's song _Crash and Burn_. He needs to play that one too. How about you?"

James grinned. "I could see you going for Avril Lavigne and Lifehouse. No, I like _Crash and Burn_ too, that's one of their best songs. And All Time Low's song _The Party Song (The Walk of Shame)_."

"Awesome song," I agreed.

"Okay," Kendall said, glowering a bit, "I'm going to give this DJ Rox a call."

"It's for your own good, K-Dog," James called as Kendall walked away, pulling his phone out of his jeans pocket. "This playlist has more of the kind of music that Jo can appreciate. She won't take the cake-cutting knife to your neck now!"

Kendall responded by flipping him the middle finger.

"So you two are getting along okay?" I asked James a little hesitantly, because I could think of a very specific reason as to why they wouldn't be.

He nodded. "We talked things over and everything's cool now."

"Good, I'm glad. I'd hate to be the cause of a split in your friendship. I don't want you guys hating me."

"Katie, we could never hate you."

I wanted to say something so badly about what had happened in the storage cupboard, but I didn't know what, or how, to say it. I didn't really regret it, and, let's face it, it had been amazing, but how was I supposed to bring it up? We weren't even dating!

Kendall walked back into the room, clicking his cell phone off. "Okay, that much is settled. DJ Rox will DJ at the wedding reception, so we can relax about the music now."

James nodded and clicked out of DJ Rox's website. "What now?"

Kendall ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know…food? I really want Jo here for that though, plus Carlos and Logan."

"How about theme?" I suggested. "We could make compile a list and have Jo go over it later."

Kendall rubbed his eyes. "I don't know. Honestly, today has been such a long day, there's been too many ups and downs. All I really want to do is grab dinner and let my brain rest."

James nodded and closed his laptop. "Do you want Katie and me to run out and grab something for you? You do look pretty beat."

Kendall plopped down on the couch. "I really need to talk to Katie before I do anything else."

I groaned. I hadn't been looking forward to discussing the incident between James and me with Kendall.

James smiled sympathetically at me as he dug his wallet out and began counting out the cash. "He didn't even yell at me. You'll be fine."

"You are such an optimist."

"No I'm not. I just have faith that Kendall loves you. Besides, I'm the one who would have gotten the worst of his wrath. You have nothing to worry about." He stuffed his money back into his wallet and shoved it into his back pocket. "I'm heading out for Chinese food," he called to Kendall. "I'll be back in an hour or so." He flashed me a smile and waved at Kendall before walking out of the apartment.

Hesitantly I walked over to Kendall and sat down beside him.

"James told me all about you two fake-dating," Kendall said gently. "He told me about how it started, and that you two really did go to _Kiss and Tell 3_. Did anything happen?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Nothing happened."

"Until today," Kendall stated and I looked away from him, staring down at the floor, feeling my face heat up.

"Yeah. Until today."

"I don't understand what happened," Kendall admitted. "I didn't ask James this, but I have to admit, I'm curious in a really sick way."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I want to know but at the same time I don't, and it's going to drive me nuts until I ask it."

"So ask it."

"Katie…"

"Just do it. It can't be any more disturbing than anything you've seen or heard today."

"No, I guess it isn't. How – how did you and James end up in the position that we all walked in on?"

"In the storage cupboard?"

"I think it's technically a closet – it's a little too big to be a cupboard."

"Whatever. Is that what you meant?"

"Yeah, it is."

I stared at him, unsure of how to answer. "Did you want a blow-by-blow description?"

"NO! I just…you like Kyle. I never even imagined that you might have feelings for James, so I'm trying to figure out how he ended up close to half-naked in a storage cupboard with you."

"You just told me it was a closet."

"WHATEVER!"

"Gosh, you're testy."

"KATIE!"

"What?"

Kendall rubbed his temple with his index fingers. "Sometimes it's scary how much alike we are."

"Believe me, I feel the same way."

"Katie, please just answer me."

I shrugged. "I'm not really sure. He pulled me into the closet or cupboard or whatever the hell it is, to beg me not to tick you off anymore and…I don't know…I just grabbed him and kissed him. I initiated it, not him."

"But why did you do it? Was it to get back at Kyle? He's gay and you'd just found out, so…"

"I don't like Kyle anymore, I haven't for awhile. And why would I kiss the guy who or the guy I like likes? Would I be congratulating him on landing my best friend, who he wasn't even trying to get in the first place, who he never wanted?"

"But then why – ?"

"Kendall, is it really that obvious? I like James! And I'm not sure, but I think he likes me too."

Kendall pressed his lips together, although it looked like he was trying to hide a smile.

"Does he like me?" I asked. "Did he say something to you?"

Kendall patted my shoulder. "I'm going to let you and James work this one out baby sister, I want no part of it."

"So you're not going to tell me?"

"Nope. It's none of my business, and I don't want it to be my business. But I'll say this much – I don't like the idea of you with him. We both know he has a history of sleeping around. But he's a good guy, and he's capable of caring about someone just as much, if not more, than he cares about his hair. Just do me a favor, Katie."

"What?"

"If you two _do_ end up sleeping together – and I'm not giving my permission because, well, why would I? – but if you to end up actually having sex or something, could you just, before you continue, make sure he hasn't gotten an STD or something?"

"Don't you guys have to get checked for STDs every six months? Doesn't Griffin insist on it?"

"Katie, can you honestly remember all of the girlfriends he's had in the last six months?"

I winced. "Good point." I paused before adding, "But he probably won't want to be with me. Why would he want to be with his best friend's little sister?"

"Would he kiss you back in the storage closet?" Kendall countered.

"How should I know?"

"Katie…forget it, I give up. I'm going to lie down. Let me know when James gets back with the food. And where are Logan and Carlos?" He got to his feet, stretched, and headed towards his and Logan's bedroom.

"I don't know, I haven't seen them."

"Well, text them when James gets back. And no…funny business…while I'm asleep."

I rolled my eyes. "Kendall, you are way too paranoid."

He raised his eyebrows at me. "Remind me what you were doing with him in the storage closet?"

"Ummm…Kendall, you're the best brother in the world and I promise no _funny business_ with James!"

"That's better."

And he walked into his room and closed the door.

I leaned back against the couch, closing my eyes. Too much had happened…How to wrap my mind

around it…?

My phone began vibrating in my pocket and I pulled it out to see the screen lighting up to show the Caller ID: Gabrielle, AKA Gabi, Morrison, one of my best friends from back home. Her mother and my mother grew up together, although Mrs. Morrison had a daughter a couple of years before Mom had Kendall. But they were pregnant with Gabi and me at the same time, so we've literally known each other since we were babies.

"Hey Gabi," I said into the phone. "How's Minnesota?"

"Almost warm. How's KENDALL'S WEDDING?"

"You heard?"

"Did you think your mom was going to keep her son's marriage a secret? I'm pretty sure my mom was the first one she told. And congrats – I heard you're going to become an aunt in, say, eight months or so."

"Around that time, yeah."

"Well, anyway, Mom and I are flying out for the wedding."

"Ohmigosh, are you freaking serious?" that was the best news I had heard all day. "That's so awesome! When will you get here?"

"Thursday morning."

"Wow, that's only a few days away. What're your sleeping arrangements?"

"I think we're gonna be bunking with you guys, but I'm not sure. I need to check with Mom."

"You better stay with us," I told her. "We have so much catching up to do!"

"I'll say! Hey, did you ever land that Kyle guy who replaced me as your BFF?"

"Shut up, you know no one could replace you. Anyway, it turns out he's gay and likes James. But James and I did make out in a storage cupboard – I mean closet – today, and then got caught by Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and Kyle."

"How – why – huh?"

"It's a long story. I'll explain when you get here."

"You better, because now I'm dying to know! By the way, what's with all the stuff about you and James being into bondage? There was some article in some tabloid about you handcuffing him to your bed."

"Oh, that's Jett Stetson and Courtney Hill's fault."

"Who's Courtney Hill?"

"James's psycho ex-girlfriend who is now out to reap her revenge. She also happens to be Jett's…I don't know…bed buddy or something."

"Someone actually wants to sleep with Jett Stetson?"

"I know, I couldn't believe it either."

* * *

><p><strong>James's POV<strong>

I took my time getting to the Chinese restaurant, and then I spent a good ten minutes figuring out what I should get, before stepping in line to order the food. Once I finally left the restaurant, I took the longest route back to the Palmwoods and made sure to go at least two miles under the speed limit.

Okay, so I was delaying the inevitable. But give me a break. I didn't want to return to the apartment so soon. Katie and I still had things to figure out, and who knew what Kendall had said to her?

Unfortunately, once I reached the lobby, I had no reason to loiter any longer, so I made my way up to the apartment. I stood outside the door, hand on the doorknob with my stomach twisting into knots that would put any boy scout to shame.

Finally, I took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

The apartment was empty except for Katie, who was sprawled on her back on the couch, her earbuds in her ears and her iPod lying on her stomach. Her eyes were closed and her fingers were drumming against her iPod in time to the music.

I grinned. This was a perfect opportunity…

I carried the bags over to the counter and grabbed the spray bottle that Mrs. Knight keeps around to water the plants. I walked back over to the couch and sprayed Katie full in the face.

Her eyes flew open, she screamed, and promptly rolled right off the couch. "JAMES DIAMOND! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" she fumbled with her iPod and finally wrenched the earbuds out of her ears, glaring at me ferociously.

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot lately," I replied. "But so far, no one's made good on their promise."

Katie sat up and I walked over to her, laughing, as I held my hand out to help her up. She took it and was just getting to her feet when she suddenly pulled hard, yanking me down to the ground with her.

"Is that your revenge?" I asked.

She smirked. "Maybe. Or maybe…"

"Or maybe you'll pull something really devious?"

She nodded. "Yes, exactly."

"Awesome, I'm looking forward to it. Just don't do anything to mess up my hair, okay?"

She licked her lips and I followed her tongue with my eyes, trying to control the direction my thoughts were going in.

"Hmmm…I wonder how you would look with pink hair…"

"KATIE KNIGHT!" I yelped out, just as she slammed herself to her feet and took off running, cackling evilly.

And that's the girl who was making out with me four hours ago in a storage cupboard.

I sprang up and chased after her. She dodged around the couch and I leapt over the back of the sofa, trying to grab her, but she jumped out of my reach and took off again, into the kitchen.

I followed her and she pushed herself up on the counter. I grabbed her by the waist and dragged her down while she half-screamed, half-laughed, for me to let her go.

"Nah-uh," I teased her. "Not until you tell me…hmmm…Oh, I know! Not until you tell me that I'm the best looking guy in the world with the best hair and the best smile."

"NEVER!"

"I'll hold you hostage until you say it."

"In that case I really will dump pink dye in your Cuda shampoo."

"It doesn't matter if I have pink hair, as long as you know I'm the best looking guy in the world. Besides, I would look fucking hot with pink hair."

"Sure James, just keep telling yourself that."

I lifted her off of the ground and threw her over my shoulder.

"JAMES! PUT ME DOWN!" she screeched.

"Only if you say it."

"I REFUSE!"

"Sucks for you. But for me it's a win-win situation."

I carried her over to the couch, but she was squirming so much that I was finally forced to set her on the floor. Instead of letting her up, however, I positioned myself over her, keeping her hands above her head.

"I HATE YOU!" but there was no malice in her voice; she was laughing too hard to make it sound believable.

"No you don't, you love me."

"Even so, I STILL HATE YOU!"

"Ah, come on Katie, don't be like that. Just say it."

"NO!"

"Not even if I say please?" I pouted at her, sticking my bottom lip out.

She paused and ran her tongue over her lips again, but quickly passed the temptation. "Not even then."

At least she had stopped screaming.

"You're mean," I informed her.

"You're the one who's got me trapped on the floor with my hands above my head," she retorted.

I paused. "That's actually a very good point."

"So are you going to let me up?"

I shook my head. "Nope, I kind of like you like this."

Her cheeks began to flush red. "Don't tease me," she whispered.

"Katie, I always tease you," I reminded her.

"I meant – "

The front door flew open and there was immediately a low stream of wolf-whistles.

"Ouch. Is it just me or is this room burning up with sexual tension?" Carlos ribbed us as he fanned his face with his hand.

"Their sexual tension's on fire," Logan replied, laughing.

Katie gaped at Logan from under me. "Did you just say something that wasn't scientifically correct?"

Logan frowned. "I think I did. Damn! I've been spending too much time with Carlos!"

"Why've you been spending too much time with Carlos?" Kendall asked as he came out of his bedroom. He raised his eyebrows when he saw us.

"James – "

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm getting off your sister."

"That just sounds wrong," Carlos informed me.

"This whole situation is wrong," Logan countered.

"Yeah, but freaking hilarious!"

"It's not that funny," Katie grumbled as I backed away from her. She sat up and straightened out her clothes.

"So does this mean you two talked things out?" Kendall wanted to know. "And is the couch safe to sit on?"

I frowned. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, if you two were on the floor, then you must have rolled off the – "

"Nope, Katie's the only one who rolled off the floor, and that's after I sprayed her with water."

Kendall, Logan, and Carlos all face-palmed.

"So you two didn't talk?" Logan confirmed.

Katie stared at him. "How could we? I was too busy running from him and he was too busy trying to pull me off of the kitchen counter and pinning me under him."

"JAMES!" Kendall yelped.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"You – you – you – we talked about this!"

"Did you see clothes flying? No, you did not. I think I'd remember if that was happening."

"Unless you were trying to block it from your memory," Carlos suggested helpfully.

"I thought things were going to get better after the incident in the storage cupboard!" Kendall cried.

"I thought it was a storage closet," Katie said.

I glanced at her. "No shit? It's a storage closet?"

She shrugged. "That's what Kendall said. He said it was too big to be a cupboard."

"It was pretty large. We could both stand up in it – "

"You two sure weren't doing a lot of standing," Logan commented, smirking a bit.

I didn't dare look at Katie. My face felt like someone had taken a blow torch to it, and I was betting her face was just as red.

"LOGAN!" Kendall snarled. "You're supposed to be the sensitive one!"

"Sorry, but it's kind of funny how we keep walking in on them at the wrong moments."

"It's not funny, it's disturbing."

"Most of the moments you walked in on weren't even the wrong ones, they just looked like the wrong ones," I spoke up.

"That makes absolutely no sense," Kendall snapped.

"No, actually it did," Logan said. "Just think about it for a moment."

Katie let out a loud sigh. "Are we going to be eating any time soon?"

"I don't think anyone's going to be able to eat any time soon," Logan informed her.

"Fine. In that case, I'm going to go talk to Scarlett. Text me when we're finally eating. And Kendall, stop freaking out about every little thing. Seriously, I thought we'd worked stuff out." And with those words she stalked out of the apartment, slamming the door shut behind her.

"James! I know I told you to figure things out with my sister, but I didn't mean – "

"Why do you always assume the worst?" I asked. "Nothing happened. Why do you keep freaking out?"

"After what I saw in the storage cupboard – I mean closet – "

"Just forget that. Can't you just calm down?"

"James – "

"Look, we were just messing around. I sprayed her with water, she fell off the couch, I tried to help her up but instead she pulled me down, I chased her around the apartment, she got up on the counter, I pulled her down, and because she was squirming so much, I set her on the floor. That's all."

"You were supposed to figure things out! Figuring things out implies talking, not spraying her with water!"

I shrugged. "I didn't really feel like talking."

"You are hopeless, James. You know that, right? You're hopeless."

"I love you too Kendall," I replied sarcastically. "Let me know when we're finally eating. I'll be in my bedroom."

Before anyone could say anything else, I stomped off to my room. Finally. Some peace and quiet.

I sank down onto my bed, massaging my temples. I wasn't ready to have _the talk_ with Katie, and I didn't think she was ready to have _the talk_ with me either.

But one thing was sticking in my mind now that no one was yammering at me. What had Katie meant when she had said "don't tease me"? I had an idea of what she meant, but I wasn't sure. But I really hoped that I was right.

* * *

><p><strong>Katie's POV<strong>

I knew I had to apologize to Scarlett somehow or other. And it was probably better sooner than later. Which was why I stood outside the Stetson's apartment, having just knocked on the door, and waiting for an answer.

I was hoping fervently that Jett wasn't home, because I really didn't feel like putting up with that jackass.

After several seconds of waiting, the door swung open and Scarlett stood in front of me. My jaw dropped. She looked terrible. Her curly blond hair was messed up like she had been sleeping, her mascara was running down her cheeks, and her eyes were red and puffy.

"What're you doing here?" she demanded. Her voice was hoarse and cracked.

I bit my lip. "I came to apologize and try to explain things to you."

"I don't want to talk to you."

"I know, and I don't blame you. But please just hear me out. I wasn't using you and I wasn't trying to steal Kyle from you. That was never my intention."

"But you were fake-dating James to get Kyle's attention and you lied to me about why you were fake-dating James in the first place!"

I sighed. "I know. I should have told you the truth. I should have told everyone the truth. Kendall doesn't trust James and me now, Logan and Carlos think that finding James and me in really weird, awkward positions is hilarious, and my best friend's gay! If I had just told everyone the truth in the first place, none of this would be happening."

"You're not going to make me feel sorry for you," Scarlett informed me haughtily.

"I'm not trying to. But I am sorry for not being straight with you."

"Well, at least you know what you did wrong."

"What you said earlier, about us never being friends – I really do consider you a friend. I never thought of betraying you, it never even crossed my mind that that's what I was doing. And I'm so sorry for hurting you, I'm so sorry!" I could feel a lump in the back of my throat and my eyes stung with tears. "Please believe me, Scarlett, I never meant to betray your trust! I could never do that intentionally to you."

She paused and searched my face with her eyes, before nodding. "Okay. I believe you. But I would really love to know how you thought you were going to go out with Kyle if you weren't going to steal him from me."

"I honestly can't remember what my original plan was. I think it was just to wait things out, because Kyle never dated anyone any longer than a month."

Scarlett wiped out her mascara-smeared eyes. "Well, now we know why, at least."

"Yeah, turns out he's gay."

There was a pause and then Scarlett leapt forward and hugged me, burying her face in my shoulder. I stroked her hair and she half-sobbed, half-laughed. "I can't believe I fought with you over a guy who is never going to like either of us! This is so stupid!"

I tipped my head back and chortled. "Yeah, it kind of is. Well, we're teenage girls, so what do you expect?"

She stepped away from me, wiping her eyes again. "Do you want to come inside? Jett isn't there."

"Does this mean you forgive me?" I asked as she let me into her apartment. We sat down in the couch and faced each other, our legs crossed Indian-style.

She nodded. "I shouldn't, I should still be really pissed off at you for awhile, but I kind of have an idea of how you felt. I used to have a crush on a guy who had no idea I even existed. He never found out, either."

"Who was he?" I asked, startled. I couldn't imagine a guy not noticing Scarlett.

"Jett's best friend before my darling brother went and got himself famous. But Chad was nothing like Jett – he was a sweetheart, but he only saw me as Jett's little sister. I guess that's why I was so enthusiastic about the idea of you and James getting together. The little sister and the best friend falling for each other. It's classic."

"I suppose…"

"Oh come on Katie! You and James would be so awesome together!"

"Maybe…"

Scarlett frowned. "Okay. Spill. What's wrong?"

"James and I just need to talk about what happened earlier and we haven't done that yet, and I don't think we're going to get the chance to do that for awhile. Things are going to get really insane with the wedding."

"You two just need to have about an hour or so without any interruptions where you can just get

everything out on the table."

I nodded. "You're probably right."

She leaned back against the couch, grinning. "Of course I am. I may be a blond but I'm not dumb. And yes, I know the correct term is _stupid_."

I laughed, shaking my head. "You're insane Scarlett. But in a good way."

"Ah, shucks, you're making me blush."

"I'm serious! You've got to be one of the sweetest people I know!"

"Well, I guess I'm just trying to make up for Jett's jackass-ish-ness."

"Well, Scar, I think you've succeeded."

The next few days went by in a flurry of wedding plans. There were plenty of arguments and fights, the worst of which was over the menu. Kendall was all for having pizza-bagel-bites and hot dogs, while Jo insisted on a whole bunch of dishes that I couldn't even pronounce. When I did try, I sounded like I had a speech impediment.

Anyway, this particular fight went on for a good six hours on Monday, with Kendall and Jo screaming bloody murder at each other. Mom and Mr. Taylor tried to act as referee and then winded up in the fight as well when they tried to defend their own kid.

James, Logan, Carlos, and I all knelt behind the couch, cowering from the screeches and screams and yells that were coming from the kitchen.

Logan and Carlos were arguing on which party would end up the victor.

"Duh, it's going to be Jo and Mr. Taylor, because eventually Kendall will get tired to screaming at Jo," Logan reasoned with Carlos.

"No way! Kendall's too stubborn! And he will never let go of his pizza-bagel-bites."

"Fine! I bet you five dollars that Jo and Mr. Taylor win."

"I accept!"

James and I glanced at each other and then I grabbed Logan and Carlos by their ears.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Logan howled. "I have sensitive ears, remember?"

"Dude, shut up. Neither one is going to win, they're going to reach a compromise."

"I'm with Katie," James added.

"Diamond, Knight, you're both on!" Carlos cried.

Those two idiots. They should have known to never bet against me.

It was nearly eight in the evening by the time Kendall, Mom, Jo, and Mr. Taylor managed to figure things out, but in the end they decided on a menu that was right in-between Kendall's and Jo's preferences.

James and I both reached our hands out to Logan and Carlos, both of whom grumbled under their breath but still slapped (and I do mean _slap_) five dollars each in our hands.

James and I high-fived before we all crawled out from behind the couch to continue with the wedding arrangements.

That was the worst of the fights, although every day one or two arguments would break out.

Eventually, however, things began to knit themselves together, and we had most of the wedding and the reception planned.

Mom had arranged for Gabi and her mother to stay in our apartment with us. While that meant that our apartment would be extremely crowded, no one complained, which was good, because if anyone had made one comment about the lack of space, even James, I would have punched them in the mouth.

Mom drove down to LAX on Thursday morning to pick Gabi and Mrs. Morrison up from their nine-o-clock flight. I waited in the apartment, watching as the guys tried to get rid of some of their adrenaline via video games. We were taking a break from the wedding plans, since we were all getting a little wound up. Camille had kidnapped Jo and was forcing her to watch _The Tourist_ in an effort to get her mind off the wedding. And of course, the guys' form of stress relief involved staring at a TV screen with remote controllers in their hands. It was always hilarious to watch them, because at one point or other at least two of them would end up rolling around the ground, trying to strangle the other.

Today it was Logan and Kendall. I'm not completely sure how it happened, because everything flew by so fast, but one minute the two were completely peaceful – well, as peaceful as they can be when their video game avatars are trying to kill each other – and the next Logan had roared and lunged across the couch for Kendall. The two fell to the floor, rolling around, kicking, and screaming.

Carlos shrugged and dove into the chaos while James and I stayed huddled on the couch with our feet up on the cushions so that they didn't get crushed when the threesome rolled over into our vicinity.

"Think we should tear them apart?" I asked James.

"Nah, let's just let them fight this one out. They look like they're enjoying themselves."

"Well, are you going to join the fight?" I asked pointedly.

"Are you kidding me? _The Face_ might get damaged!"

Before I could retort, the front door opened and Mom walked in with my Minnesota best friend and her mom.

"Gabi!" I shrieked, jumping to my feet, leaping over Kendall, Logan, and Carlos who had yet to realize that Mom was home with our guests.

"Katie!" she screeched back and we hugged, jumping up and down and screaming like we were four year olds.

"Ohmigosh, I have so much to tell you!" I gushed.

"If you don't tell me what's been going on, I am seriously going to have a heart attack!"

James clambered over the back of the couch, out of harm's way, and landed neatly on one knee on the floor. "Hey Gabi," he said easily. "Hey Mrs. Morrison. Long time, no see."

"James!" Gabi threw her arms around him as if he was her best friend, instead of me, but I knew this was just to see what his reaction would be. Plus, I had a feeling she was checking to see if he was in even better shape than he had been when she had last seen him, two years ago. I mean, let's face it, with a body like that, who wouldn't want to check?

"Hi…squeezing…can't breathe…" James managed to get out.

Gabi released him and stepped back and winked at me to signal that she definitely approved.

"Oh, sorry James. Guess I don't know my own strength."

Kendall, Logan, and Carlos finally realized that something was going on and they popped up, hair mussed, clothes messed up, and breathing heavily.

"Oh, hey Gabi, Mrs. Morrison! How's life?" Kendall asked as he dragged himself to his feet.

As Mrs. Morrison replied, Gabi grabbed my arm. "You have got to show me this place! This entire hotel looks incredible!"

I grinned. "You're in luck – I give personalized tours. Now…I charge two-hundred dollars an hour plus expenses."

"Tell you what," Gabi replied, and then lowered her voice so that the boys, who were making excuses to Mom, couldn't hear. "You give me the tour for free and I won't tell the guys that you secretly love their music."

I gasped and put my hands over my heart, staring at her in horror. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, I so would."

"Fine. You get a free tour, no expenses. Lucky you."

I showed her around the apartment, and then we walked around the different floors, before descending down to the pool, and finally ending in the lobby.

"Okay, this is officially the coolest place ever," Gabi said as we plopped down in chairs in the lobby. "I can see why you love it so much."

"It is a pretty awesome place," I admitted. "Some of the people aren't, but the rest of it is nice."

"So what was going on when Mom, your mom, and I walked into the apartment?"

I laughed and explained what had happened right before they had arrived. When I finished, she just shook her head, snickering. "Some things will never change. Well, it's nice to know they haven't grown up."

"I don't think they'll ever grow up past the age of, say, fifteen."

"So how's James been? How are you two getting along?"

"Honestly? I don't know. We haven't talked about what happened last Sunday, and I think we're kind of pretending that it never happened."

"Well that's stupid," she proclaimed, pushing her dark curly hair out of her eyes. "You two are awesome together. I can't figure out why you guys can't see that."

"I can see it, but I think he's ignoring that fact," I replied bitterly.

"Hey Katie!" another voice, one that I tried so hard to avoid, called to me. "Where's your boyfriend? I'm shocked you don't have any handcuffs with you, I thought you always carried them with you."

I turned around and faced Jett coolly as he reached Gabi and me. "The only reason why I would ever carry handcuffs around was if I was going to chain you to a light pole, Stetson."

He licked his lips slowly. "Sounds like a plan to me."

AAAAAGH! Did _nothing_ faze him?

"This is Jett Stetson?" Gabi asked me, looking Jett up and down with a look of disgust on her face. "Wow. It's a good thing they have to wear makeup on TV, because otherwise no one would want to look at _him_."

"Who's this?" Jett asked, nodding to Gabi.

Gabi got to her feet and faced him. "Gabi Morrison, Katie's best friend, and the president of the _I Hate Jett Stetson _club."

Jett blinked. "That's an actual club?"

Gabi turned to look at me as I face-palmed. "Is he for real?"

"You know, I'm pretty sure that he's run off of batteries or something, but I've never been able to prove it."

"So Gabi," Jett began, leering at her. "Are you anything like Katie? I mean, like into handcuffs and stuff?"

Gabi placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Did you just ask me if I was into bondage?" she hissed at him.

"Duh. So are you? Because if you are…" he trailed off suggestively.

Gabi hauled back and punched him in the face. I nearly fell over as I stumbled to my feet in shock.

"What the hell?" Jett howled, dropping to his knees as he clutched his nose in pain. "What'd you do that for?"

Gabi shrugged as she shook her fist out. "It's about time somebody besides James punched you. You deserve it."

"That hurt!"

"Oh my gosh, you're such a baby! Suck it up, Stetson like the man you say you are. Come on Katie, there's one too many _rats_ in this lobby."

We stalked off, leaving Jett on his knees with Bitter screaming, "MY LOBBY HAS RATS?"

"You know something," I said to Gabi as we got into the elevator. "You punching Jett was the best thing _ever_!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>I'm sorry if the ending was a tiny bit abrupt, I just wanted to get the chapter done and posted.<em>**

**_So...only one more chapter and the epilogue...But don't worry, I plan on making both the last chapter and the epilogue as epic as possible! And I've got another Jatie story (well, actually two) that I'm really looking forward to writing! I finished one of my classes today, so maybe the next chapter will be up a little bit sooner..._**

**_Has anyone heard Big Time Rush's new single "If I Ruled The World"? I'm completely addicted to it, it's so amazing! I think it might be one of my favorite songs by them!_**

**_Now...that review button...Did you know that it's been eating a whole bunch of cheeseburgers and pizzas and twinkies lately? Yep, it's been bored, and when it's bored, it eats. So if you click the button, it won't be so bored and it'll get some exercise in, plus it'll make me really happy to hear your thoughts on the chapter! So please review, because it would mean the world to me and the review button! :)_**


	14. Chapter 14 PreWedding Insanity

_**So this was originally supposed to be the last chapter...only the last chapter was getting so long that I finally decided to split it into two parts...and this chapter is STILL my longest one yet!**_

_**Disclaimer: I own Big Time Rush...in a different dimension. In this reality, I don't even know them, so nope, I don't own them.**_

_**Warnings: Language and mild sexual references**_

_**Chef Carlitos: Thank you for your review! Thank you! I'm so glad you liked the part with Bitters and the rats :)**_

_**BriannieBee64: Thank you for reviewing! Haha, who doesn't love "The Face"? Only a cool person would punch Jett Stetson ;) Hopefully the chapter after this one won't take me as long to finish as the last few chapters have.**_

_**Scars of your love: Thank you for reviewing! Ohmigosh, thank you so much! You're so sweet! Thank you :)**_

_**Jatie 4 ever: Thank you for taking the time to review! And thank you! The part with James and Katie on the floor was fun to write, so I'm glad you enjoyed it ;D And thank you! Hopefully in my next stories I'll do Jatie justice :)**_

_**bigtimerushkendall1: Thank you for your review! I'm glad Logan and Carlos make you laugh! I think Jett was dropped on his head as a baby, but that's just a theory ;) And yeah, it's very good that someone other than James decided to punch Jett :)**_

_**Jilliy: Thank you for reviewing! And thank you so much! I definitely will :)**_

_**iluvBTR166: Thank you for all the nudges you've given me! If it wasn't for your PMs, this chapter might not have been up until next week, so thank you! Virtual hugs!:)**_

_**If there were any reviews that I never replied to, I'm so sorry! Things have been completely crazy lately, so...**_

_**THANK YOU FOR ALERTING AND FAVORITING AND REVIEWING THIS STORY! You're all amazing!**_

_**So, like I said, this was supposed to be the final chapter...but it didn't quite work out that way. Parts of this chapter might be a little rushed or not written quite as well as they could have been, and if that's the case, then I'm very sorry :( And I am so, so sorry for how long you all had to wait - almost a week! But hopefully the length of the chapter will make up for it a little bit. And I'll try to get the last official chapter (not counting the epilogue) up as soon as I can, hopefully tomorrow or sometime this weekend :)**_

_**Enjoy the chapter!**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 14 – Pre-Wedding Insanity<strong>

**Katie's POV**

The apartment was quiet and dark, and nothing moved. Well, unless you happened to be in my bedroom.

Gabi and I sat side-by-side, Indian-style, on my bed, eating popcorn and downing flavored water, because Mom had hidden all the soda so that we couldn't get at it and end up super hyper. Too late.

"I'm telling you, James won't be able to take his eyes off of you when he sees you in that dress," Gabi told me as she popped a kernel into her mouth.

"He's already seen me in the bridesmaid dress," I reminded her.

"And I bet his reaction was _holy shit – I need to kiss her right now_! Am I right? I'm totally right, right?"

"I don't know," I said as I grabbed a handful of pop corn and stuffed it into my mouth. "I mean, I guess. But it can be hard to tell with James."

"Oh puh-leeze. He's James Diamond, and James Diamond is not known for being subtle."

"Ain't that the truth?" I muttered.

"My point exactly. So what's with you two anyway? You said on the phone something about making out in a cupboard?"

"Actually it was a storage closet," I corrected her.

"Ka-tie! Stop changing the subject! Just tell me what happened!"

I replayed the scene for her, and by the time I had finished, she was jumping on the bed, still sitting down, in excitement. "I knew it! I called it! He so likes you!"

"Maybe…"

"How can he not like you? He made out with you in a storage closet and practically let you undress him. I mean, isn't that James Diamond talk for _will you marry me_?"

"James doesn't do commitment, remember?"

"Whatever. Come on, Katie, how can you not think that James likes you?"

"Because why would he?" I cried. "I'm just his best friend's little sister."

"That's not true, and that never has been. You two are so close, and with everything you've told me, it seems like he really does care about you." She paused. "Has anything else happened that you haven't told me?"

I shrugged and recounted what had happened earlier and later that same day. "…But we've been so busy that nothing has happened since then," I finished.

Gabi bit down into her lip. "Well, maybe something will happen at the wedding. If you and James like each other, than you should do something about it, otherwise you'll both be miserable for the rest of your lives, because there will always be that huge _what-if_ hanging over your heads, even when you're happily married to other people. And then where will that leave you two? Hmmm?"

"Okay, okay!" I cried, holding up my hands in alarm. "I get your point! I'll try to talk to James during the reception or afterwards. But I'm not making any promises because this is the guys, and we all know how crazy they can get."

Gabi nodded in satisfaction. "Good enough." She paused long enough to lie flat on my bed, before asking, "So what're the plans for tomorrow?"

"We're doing the final fitting for our wedding clothes, and then we're going through the wedding rehearsal. Oh, and then there's the bachelor and bachelorette parties in the evening. Jo's bachelorette party should be fun. I think we're watching a romantic comedy and playing _I Never_ – Mom practically begged Camille and Jo to keep things PG13 rated because of the two underage girls there."

"But things can get out of hand anyway," Gabi corrected me. "This should be fun."

I laid down beside her, but shot straight back up again when a horrible thought hit me. "Gabi! What if the guys have arranged for a stripper to jump out of the cake at Kendall's bachelor party? What if she and James hit it off and he takes her home and – ?"

Gabi slapped her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. "Katie, I don't think you're going to have anything to worry about. If James really likes you, he won't look twice at the stripper."

"But she'll be half-naked!" I whined.

Gabi patted my hand. "Do you want to be the one to jump out of the cake?" she asked me teasingly.

"No! God no! It's my brother's bachelor party!"

"Where's it going to be held?"

"The recording studio. Jo's bachelorette party is going to be at Camille's apartment – they were thinking about having it at the club that James and I went to, but after the incident with the paparazzi..."

"We should totally crash the bachelor party!" Gabi suggested, sitting up on her elbows.

"We can't do that! I don't think _anyone_ has ever done that!"

"Then we'll be the first. Seriously, Kates, it would be effing epic!"

"It'll be effing epic when our moms yell at us for crashing the party!"

"Okay, okay, it was just an idea. But it would still be hilarious."

"Whatever," I grumbled as I lowered my body back onto the mattress. "Come on, we should try to sleep, I've got to get up early in the morning and I think we're going to have another late night tomorrow, and then we'll have to be up early on Saturday and that'll probably be a long day as well."

Mom woke me up at seven the next morning with an apology and the promise of plenty of caffeinated beverages to keep me moving, all the while trying to keep her movements quiet so as not to wake Gabi. Since she was just a guest and not part of the wedding party, she and her mother could sleep in until we got home.

Jo had rented out the bridal shop in the mall for the morning, and we were planning on trying to get there by nine.

When I finally stumbled out of my bedroom, fully dressed in low-slung jeans, a lace camisole, a hoodie, and converse sneakers, I found only James, Logan, and Mom sitting out at the breakfast bar. Logan had dark bags under his eyes and he barely acknowledged me when I walked in. Mom had her hair pulled up in a messy bun with red tendrils falling out around her face and she wore very little makeup, but it was James who shocked me. He wore a baseball cap over his brown hair, which, from what I could see, looked unusually messy. Wow. That was beyond shocking. He didn't even smell of his usual Cuda products, but rather of regular soap, and I have to admit, it was a nice smell.

"I hate early mornings," he grumbled. "Especially since Carlos, Logan, and I were both up half the night listening to Kendall talking to Jo on the phone." He glanced over at Mom as she slid off her stool and went to rap hard on the bedroom doors to get Kendall and Carlos moving. He turned back to me and mouthed the words "Phone sex".

"Where were you, Logan?" I asked in surprise. "Surely he wasn't just trying to whisper everything under the covers."

"I ended up bunking with James and Carlos, but we could still hear everything."

"You're so lucky your room is on the other side of the apartment," James griped to me. "It was absolutely sickening!"

"I can imagine," I said sympathetically, patting him and Logan on the shoulders.

"It was really traumatizing. I need a hug now," James informed me in a five-year-old voice, puffing out his bottom lip and giving me his best big-eyed look.

I laughed and obediently hugged him. I felt his arms wrap around me, pulling me closer to him, and I closed my eyes, relaxing into his embrace.

After several seconds, Logan cleared his throat pointedly, and James and I pulled back, but for the first time in days, we caught each other's eye and smiled at each other. Oh wow. No awkwardness. Yes! We were actually getting somewhere.

Carlos and Kendall finally stumbled out of their separate bedrooms both grumbling about how much getting up early sucked.

When Mom left the apartment to figure out the driving arrangements with Mr. Taylor, the guys immediately began razzing Kendall about being the entire reason they were all so tired.

"The least you could have done was go into the bathroom," Carlos mumbled out as he took a huge gulp of coffee from James's mug.

"Dude, you just slobbered all over my cup," James complained as he wiped Carlos's saliva from the rim of his BTR mug.

"You know, it's really weird that you drink from a mug with your faces all over it," I pointed out as I took a bite of my strawberry pancake.

"We're supporting ourselves," James replied, taking a hesitant sip of coffee as if he was worried he might get infected by Carlos-germs.

Eventually we managed to get out of the apartment and out into Mr. Taylor's van, although it was a tight squeeze with all nine of us. I ended up squished between James and Carlos in the very back, since Kendall and Jo and Logan and Camille wanted to sit together. Mom was up in the front with Mr. Taylor, and ended up arguing with him over which route was the best to get to the mall. I was just extremely glad that Jo's costar and her second bridesmaid, Bethany, had had to drop out of the wedding party because of a family emergency. Jo had invited another friend to take her place, but she wouldn't be able to join us until that afternoon, because she was flying in from out of state. If either Bethany or Jo's other friend had joined us, someone would have been riding on the roof.

James was right next to the window and I could tell he was really uncomfortable, since this part of the van was not meant for someone who was six-foot-one. I tried to move over enough to give him some breathing room, but Carlos was sprawled out in his very small area and was snoring away. _How_ he could have gone back to sleep with all the noise and commotion and arguing going on in the van was beyond me, but that was Carlos Garcia for you. When in doubt, sleep.

James smiled gratefully at me anyway, but that didn't last for very long. It was beyond my comprehension how Mr. Taylor managed to get his driver's license, but maybe the standards were lower thirty years ago. He swerved in and out of traffic, went about twenty miles over the speed limit, and routinely flipped people off.

He took one ninety-degree turn at about sixty miles an hour, sending everyone, including me, into the person sitting on their left. And of course, the person sitting on my left was James. I went tumbling into him and he caught me, holding me to him as Mr. Taylor took another turn about twenty miles too fast.

"You're such a cautious driver!" Kendall cried as he nearly flew headfirst into the window, trying to keep himself from crushing Jo. "What happened?"

"The road-rage gene missed me," Jo answered as she tried to keep my brother from getting a concussion as Mr. Taylor came to an abrupt stop at a red light.

"You know, if he was charging admission, this could double as an amusement park ride," James muttered to me as I fell even harder into his chest.

"I think he should be paying us instead," I retorted. "Or he should at least be paying for our medical insurance – by the time we reach the mall, we're going to need it."

James chortled but immediately had to brace himself against the window and tighten his grip on me as Mr. Taylor swerved right in front of a car.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US?" Mom screamed from the front of the van.

"That car was going to slow."

"IT WAS GOING THE SPEED LIMIT!"

Needless to say, by the time we reached the mall, tempers were running high and you could cut the sexual tension with a knife.

Mom and Mr. Taylor led the way into the mall and to the bridal shop, still bickering over Mr. Taylor's driving.

The shop assistants were expecting us, and they quickly rushed us into the fitting rooms. The dress that James had bought me fit perfectly, so there wasn't much they needed to do with me. Jo's gown, on the other hand, needed to be taken in, and then let out, and then taken in again.

While Kendall was being fitted for the suit, James stood out in the main part of the shop with me, pulling at the sleeves of his own suit, and fiddling with the button hole where the corsage would go. He still hadn't taken off his baseball cap, which I had to smile at.

"So, looking forward to the bachelorette party tonight?" James asked, shifting uncomfortably in his suit.

"Yeah, it should be fun," I answered. "So…um…bachelor party…Are you getting a girl to jump out of a cake?"

James winkled his nose. "Jo would kill us all if that ever got back to her. So no, we're not. Besides, none of us are really into the idea of a stripper. It just makes the whole thing seem so…crass."

And this is one of the reasons why I like him so much.

"So, what're the plans for Jo's bachelorette party tonight, if I might ask?" James asked me, shoving his sleeves up his arms.

"It's fine," I answered. "Jo and Camille had to keep things PG13 because otherwise Mom would have a heart attack. But, as Gabi pointed out last night, we're playing _I Never_, and we all know how that can go down sometimes."

"You should embarrass the crap out of Jo and Camille," James informed me with a smirk. "Just be prepared for them to hit you back as hard as they can. So they'll be saying stuff like _I never made out with James Diamond_." His smirk widened and I could tell he was enjoying himself.

"That'll hit both Camille and me," I replied, grinning.

"I didn't make out with Camille in a storage closet."

I was just coming up with a retort when the only male seamstress called out,

"James Diamond! We're ready for you!"

James winked at me. "Just remember what I said about the game."

"Will do," I said as he walked away. He turned his head and grinned cheekily at me.

"Just remember to differentiate between you and Camille."

I flipped him off and he laughed.

Kendall walked back out in his normal jeans, flannel shirt, and beanie.

"I hate being fitted for clothes," he grumbled as he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms and pouting. "And I'm pretty sure the guy who was measuring my suit was gay."

I shrugged. "What's your point? Kyle is too."

Kendall stared at me. "My point is, I'm pretty sure he was hitting on me. And I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's coming on even stronger with James."

I snickered. "Oh man, that just made my day. I can just imagine that look on James's face when the realization that the guy who's feeling him up is hitting on him. That is, if you're right."

"PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE STRAIGHT!" James's panicked voice echoed from the direction of the fitting rooms.

"And this is why most bridal shops usually have females fitting the clothes. And I don't think most bridal shops generally fit men's suits," I informed Kendall while shaking with laughter. "But this is Los Angeles, so I guess the rules are a little more flexible. Like, say, Pilates flexible."

"OKAY, OKAY, HANDS _OFF_!" James yelped.

Kendall completely lost it. He started laughing and within seconds he had slumped to the ground, roaring with mirth. I had to balance myself against the wall over my brother to keep myself up because I was laughing so hard I was liable to crumple to the ground any second.

James came bursting out of the fitting room he had been in, followed by the male seamstress, who was grinning like crazy.

"Seriously, you should definitely wear the buttons on your shirt undone, to show off those washboard abs," the guy told James.

"Okay, I am not gay! And no! Although I would totally rock that style…GRRRR!"

The male seamstress shrugged and sauntered of, looking like he was trying not to laugh. He probably wasn't even gay, he just needed to give the guys a hard time. Chances were Kendall had made a comment to him about being a male seamstress, and then James had followed that up with a smart ass remark of his own.

"What is it about me that makes me a magnet for homosexual guys?" James grumbled. "Is it the hair? The face? The washboard abs? My style?" He pulled a mirror from his back pocket and peered into it, checking to make sure every hair was in place.

"It might be because of your obsessive-compulsive tendency to carry a mirror and comb around," I told him.

"Nah, that's not it."

"James, I'm pretty sure that guy wasn't even gay."

James looked up in shock. "What the hell makes you say that?"

"He was acting too stereotypical gay. Seriously, he was acting like Jack Tripper from _Three's Company_, and _he_ was pretending to be gay. Besides, the gay-male-seamstress is such a cliché. He was probably every bit as straight as you, he was just giving you a hard time because you said something to him that pissed him off."

"Katie, he was…he…are you sure?"

I nodded. "I'm pretty sure. What happened? He was measuring your leg or something and his hand slipped upwards?"

James nodded, looking beyond disgruntled.

"He's a professional. He wouldn't hit on _both_ you and Kendall," I informed him.

"He hit on Kendall?" James cried, before turning to look at Kendall and bursting out laughing. "Okay, okay, Katie, you're right. There is no way he would go for _both_ of us…"

"I know there's an insult in there somewhere," Kendall grumbled, pulling his beanie lower over his eyes. "But I'm not in the mood to ask you to explain yourself, because frankly, it's not worth it."

By the time we finished the final fitting, it was nearly noon, so we headed over to the food court, where we grabbed lunch, and then jumped in the van, and had one hell of a bumpy ride over to the church where the wedding was to be held.

We met up with the flower girl and the ring bearer, a little girl and her even littler brother, and their parents. The girl and boy played Jo's younger siblings on _New Town High_, and Jo had become extremely close to them.

"So where's your third bridesmaid?" I asked Jo as Camille, and I lined ourselves up, ready to proceed down the aisle after the flower girl and the ring bearer. Mr. Taylor was hanging back a ways, playing solitaire on his phone, and looking like he could have been at a Rolling Stones concert and he still wouldn't have been having as good a time as he was with his iPhone and the virtual cards.

"She's…Perfect timing, Stephanie!"

Camille and I spun around to find none other than Stephanie King hurrying towards us, her thick, dark hair flying everywhere .

"Whew, I made it. I'm so sorry, Jo! The plane was late and then traffic was terrible!"

Jo hugged her. "It's fine, it's fine! The point is you made it safely, that's the important part."

Stephanie turned to Camille and me. "Cami!" she cried, embracing Camille, and then facing me.

"Katie Knight?" she asked, sounding slightly stunned.

I smirked. "The one and only."

"Wow!" Stephanie exclaimed as she threw her arms around me. "The last time I saw you, you were twelve and the cutest little thing! And now…you're – what ? – seventeen? – and absolutely gorgeous!"

"Aw, shucks, you're making me blush," I told her.

"I'm serious, you're beautiful! Guys must be flocking to you!"

"Just one…" Jo giggled behind her hand.

Stephanie raised her eyebrows, but she didn't say anything.

"Anyway, if you thought the ride over here was bad, it was even worse in Mr. Taylor's van. First off, no offense to your dad, Jo, he's a horrible driver, and second, we were all squished in next to each other," I complained. "I was squashed right between James and Carlos."

"I thought you and James were enjoying being so smashed up against each other," Camille cracked.

"Yeah, you're really funny, Camille," I deadpanned as Stephanie's jaw dropped.

"So, Stephanie, we'll stop by the bridal shop again after the practice ceremony to get your dress fitted, and then we'll head to Camille's apartment for the bachelorette party," Jo interrupted before Camille could make a retort.

Stephanie nodded. "Sounds like fun." And the conversation ended there as the rehearsal began.

The music began, and the flower girl and ring bearer began to skip down the aisle. Camille began walking down after them, smiling brightly as she went. I followed her, feeling extremely stupid as I tried to walk in small, graceful steps down the aisle between the pews, my sneakers scuffing against the flattened-out carpet.

Most bridesmaids tend to have escorts, but we had decided that for the sake of the size of the wedding party, we would just walk by ourselves. It was probably better – this way, we wouldn't have guys trying to go thirty miles an hour down the aisle with us trying to keep ourselves from tipping over on three-inch heels.

I could see Kendall standing next to the podium with the preacher who we had hired to conduct the wedding ceremony. Logan, James, and Carlos stood in that order behind Kendall. Camille was on the opposite side of the raised platform, facing Logan.

After what felt like forever, I reached the three steps and climbed them, before continuing over so that I could stand next to Camille, across from James. He grinned at me and mouthed "nice job". I smiled back at him, and signed back "thanks!"

"Oh…my…" Everyone turned towards Carlos, who was gaping, open-mouthed, at the aisle, as Stephanie walked towards us. Ah. So Jo hadn't told Carlos either that Stephanie was coming back for the wedding.

She beamed at all of us and waved at the guys, who all waved back in shock. Carlos looked like he couldn't decide if he was going to have a heart attack or throw a welcome-back party for her.

She stepped up onto the platform and took her place beside me, across from Carlos.

And then the music changed and everyone's heads turned towards the aisle once again, where Jo was walking down the aisle, holding onto her father's arm. She was beaming even more widely than Stephanie had, and Mr. Taylor was grinning. They reached the platform and Mr. Taylor sat down in the first row on the left side, across from where Mom was sitting on the right side. Jo stepped up onto the platform and she faced Kendall, who stepped forward.

The preacher went through the usual preamble speech, and then dove into the vows, having Kendall and Jo repeat them. They finished the whole ceremony with the usual kiss, and then hurried down the steps and down the aisle.

Okay, wow. The practice ceremony was over with. That was a huge relief.

"Remember, we need to be here by noon tomorrow, to double check on everything!" Jo called to everyone as we all exited the church.

"So don't be up too late partying," Mr. Taylor told us all gruffly.

Stephanie had rented a car at the airport, so she and Jo headed in the opposite direction from us as we walked out into the parking lot. "I'll see you girls tonight!" she yelled to Camille and me as she pulled her keys out of her purse. "And I'll see you guys tomorrow!" she added to Kendall, James, Logan, and Carlos.

The rest of us climbed reluctantly into the van and strapped ourselves in. Carlos stretched out, kicking his feet up onto the back of the seat in front of us, where Logan and Camille were sitting, but they were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't even notice. Carlos slipped his hands behind his head and grinned wildly. "Can you believe Stephanie is back in town?" he cried happily. "It's been – what? – five years since we've seen her! And holy shit! She looks amazing! Can you guys believe how amazing she looks? Cuz she looks totally amazing! I can't wait to see her again tomorrow! Can you guys wait? Cuz I totally can't! She's going to look beautiful in her dress? Don't you think she will? Cuz she totally will…"

We had to listen to Carlos's yapping about Stephanie all the way home. Kendall was the only one who had a seat all to himself, but he was off in deep thought, looking like he didn't even realize he could stretch out.

Meanwhile, Mr. Taylor's driving seemed to be getting worse, if that was even possible. Carlos had this uncanny ability to just sway back and forth like a parrot on a pirate's shoulder while he was chattering on about how perfectly wonderful Stephanie was, and not even go tumbling into me. I was immensely thankful for that, because I already had James falling into me – I didn't need another boy ending up in my lap.

"Sorry," James mumbled as he ended up sprawled across my legs. He pushed himself up but it was completely pointless, since Mr. Taylor made another super sharp, super fast turn and he ended up falling against me.

"Mr. Taylor!" he called to the front of the van. "These seatbelts suck!"

"Oh yeah, they're old, they've probably gotten all stretched out," Mr. Taylor replied, not sounding all that concerned.

"Maybe I should just sit in your lap," I cracked to James. "Then we can save all this falling-into-each-other business."

He grinned back at me cheekily. "Sounds like a plan to me."

I actually might have ended up in his lap if Kendall hadn't chosen that moment to land back on earth and say, "Absolutely not!"

It didn't matter anyway, because I quickly found myself go flying into his lap. The seatbelts were no more help than if I had tried to use my earbuds to strap myself in.

James's hands circled my waist as he caught me, ensuring that I didn't go flying into the window.

"Want to make a bet on whether or not we get out of here uninjured?" he asked me in a low voice.

"Yeah, I'm not taking that bet," I retorted. "The odds against our wellbeing are too great at this point."

"…And Stephanie's hair was absolutely beautiful! Don't you guys think her hair was absolutely beautiful? Cuz it was…" Carlos rambled on.

James and I rolled our eyes at each other.

To my great, immense, boundless surprise, we actually reached the Palmwoods alive and unwounded.

"Should have taken me up on my bet," James informed me as we unbuckled our sorry excuses for seatbelts.

"I don't bet when there's a two in a thousandth chance of probability," I retorted. Carlos was still cooing on about Stephanie and apparently hadn't even noticed that the van had stopped.

I unbuckled his seatbelt for him and then shoved his shoulder to get him to move. We all managed to stumble out of the van and made a run for the hotel, as if we were afraid that now that the van had stopped, it might blow up. Mom stayed behind to scream at Mr. Taylor about his driving. As we raced away, I could hear her shrieking, "THE RED LIGHT WAS THERE FOR A REASON!"

We split up when we reached the second floor. Camille headed for her apartment and we made a beeline for ours.

Gabi and Mrs. Morrison were sitting in the living room, watching TV Land. They looked up when we walked in.

"I am never riding with Mr. Taylor _again_," James said in a low, deadly voice.

"Yeah, I didn't feel all that safe," I put in.

"That was worse than an unstable amusement park ride," Logan added.

"And was the point of even _wearing_ the seatbelts?" Kendall demanded.

Carlos shrugged. "I thought his driving was fine."

James, Kendall, Logan, and I all face-palmed.

"Where's Jen?" Mrs. Morrison asked worriedly. "She didn't go through the windshield, did she?"

"No, Mom stayed back so that she would scream at Mr. Taylor," I explained. "She'll be up when her voice is hoarse."

Gabi got up and grabbed my hand. "Come on Katie! We have to get ready for the bachelorette party! See you guys later!"

And she dragged me into my bedroom before I could protest.

We spent the next three hours messing around with makeup, trying out different hairstyles, and figuring out the perfect outfit for the bachelorette party.

In the end, Gabi ended up in denim shorts, a lace camisole under a tunic-style v-neck tank top with an empire waist, and gladiator sandals. I wore a denim skirt, two layered lace camisoles, and my sneakers. If I do say so myself, we both looked damn good.

The party was supposed to start at seven, and it was 6:55 when we finally walked out of my bedroom. The guys were still home, although they were in the process of getting ready themselves. They were all running around, half-naked, screaming at someone else for stealing their favorite shirt.

If it wasn't for the lack of boobs, I would have started questioning whether or not they were actually males, but since none of them needed a bra…

"THAT'S MY HAIR GEL!" James hollered at Logan as he chased him around the apartment, both boys shirtless and only in boxers. Logan was holding an open bottle of Cuda hair gel, and his hair was slicked back. It was a scary sight.

"Oh wow," James uttered as he caught sight of Gabi and me. His eyes widened as he took in our outfits.

Logan gave us the double thumbs-up sign. "You both look great."

"Yeah, and you both look shirtless," Gabi commented dryly.

"Haha…AAAAGH!" and Logan dove into the bedroom he shared with Kendall, doubtlessly to grab a shirt and protect our innocent seventeen-year-old girl eyes.

Gabi and I exchanged half amused, half exasperated glances.

James didn't even bother moving from his position. "Seriously, you two are going to rock the party. Have fun! Ummm…" he glanced down at his bare chest and his boxers, and Gabi and I simultaneously crossed our arms over our own chests, smirking at him. "I'm…just…going to…"

"JAMES DIAMOND! GET YOUR SORRY ASS DRESSED RIGHT NOW AND STOP BEING HALF-NAKED AROUND MY SISTER! THIS IS BECOMING AN ALL-TOO COMMON OCCURRENCE!" Kendall roared as he came out of his and Logan's bedroom. James imitated Logan and gave Kendall the double thumbs-up sign. "I can do that! See you girls later!"

He scurried back into his and Carlos's bedroom, and Kendall turned to Gabi and me. "Have fun at Camille's tonight, and no drinking or smoking or anything illegal," he told us.

I hugged him. "Will do, big brother. See you tomorrow!"

Gabi and I headed out of the apartment and down the hall to Camille's apartment. Even thought it was only 7:05, there were already the sounds of laughter and shrieks coming from behind the front door.

I knocked on the door and within half a second, the door swung open, revealing one of Jo's costars.

"Hey!" she chirped perkily. "Katie and Gabi, right? Come on in!"

We pretty much spent the first half hour just chatting and introducing ourselves to the people who we didn't know, before Camille clapped her hands and announced at the top of her lungs that we were going to watch _She's The Man_.

I had seen the movie once before with Mom, and hadn't thought it was all that good. But this time around, I found myself laughing out loud every few minutes. The movie was wicked funny, and there were some points when I found myself laughing nearly as hard as I had in the bridal shop earlier that day.

When the movie ended, Camille initiated the game _I Never_. We all sat in a circle with a can of soda, and waited for the bride to start it off.

"Okay," she said, licking her lips slowly. "I never…have pushed anyone into the Palmwoods pool."

Camille and I both groaned and took a small sip of our soda.

Camille flashed us a smile. "I never…kissed Kendall Knight on the lips!"

Jo scowled at her but nevertheless drank from her can.

Stephanie grinned. "I never…have been on a TV show."

Everyone, save for Stephanie and me, drank from their cans.

"Okay," I said, trying to think of a good one. "I never…checked out Logan Mitchell when he was at the Palmwoods pool."

"You've got a dirty mind, Katie," Camille informed me as she took a swig from her soda.

I smiled at her sweetly. "Great minds think alike, eh Cami?"

Gabi smirked. "I never…looked up shirtless pictures of any of the BTR boys."

I scowled at her as I took a sip of my soda, but I wasn't the only one. Camille drank from her can, as did a couple of the other girls.

"You're dating Logan!" I said to Camille in surprise. "Why did you have to look up pictures of the guys?"

"It was before we were dating," she explained to me, blushing slightly. "What else was I supposed to do. Who'd you look up pictures up of?"

I could feel my face flushing hot. "James…not for my own enjoyment," I added hastily. "I just kind of…stumbled across them…"

Gabi snickered. "Hmm hmmm. Sure. I totally believe that."

"Shut up."

The game continued, each round getting more embarrassing and nastier than the last one, until…

"I never…made out with James Diamond in a supply closet when he was shirtless!" Jo crowed.

I glared at her as I drank from my can. She was apparently getting me back from saying "I never…became pregnant with my boyfriend's baby." I might have said a lot worse about her and Kendall, but it was already pretty gross, since he's my brother.

There were gasps from the other girls and Stephanie's jaw dropped. "I _knew_ something was going on between you two!"

"It's nothing…it just happened…" I tried to explain as Jo's costars questioned me about how it had happened and what it was like to kiss him.

Eventually they realized that I wasn't going to say anything else on the matter, they got bored and gave up.

Jo yawned. "I hate to say this, guys, because I'm having fun, but I'm exhausted. Would you mind if I just went to bed?"

Camille and Stephanie both nodded simultaneously.

"Of course, go to bed. You're pregnant and you're getting married tomorrow! You need as much sleep as you can get," Stephanie assured Jo.

Jo smiled at her. "Thanks Steph. I'll see all of you tomorrow, okay?"

We said our goodnights to her and she got up and left the apartment, still yawning. Jo's costars headed off to some club for the night, leaving Camille, Stephanie, Gabi, and me standing in the middle of the living room, staring at each other.

"I say we crash the boys' bachelor party," Stephanie said with a wicked gleam in her eyes. "Show them that you can't have a proper party without hot girls."

Gabi slung her arm around Stephanie. "Girl, I like your thinking."

Camille and I glanced at each other, and then we grinned. There wasn't anything better to do anyway. And if everyone else was going to be exhausted tomorrow, then we should be just as tired. Besides, we couldn't let the boys have all the fun!

"Which car are we taking?" I asked.

Camille smirked. "Mine, of course. Come on, we have no time to waste!"

(*)(*)(*)(*)

**James's POV**

To be quite honest, Kendall's bachelor party wasn't quite as fun as we had thought it was going to be. We had spent the last week planning the party, and there was no lack of loud, good music, food, and drinks (including beers and wine coolers). But we were all missing something very specific – girls.

I sat in a chair against the wall in the main room, my arms crossed, and completely bored out of my mind. The disco balls were spinning from the ceiling, and Deff Lepard blared from the speakers, but let's face it – without the girls, there really was no party.

"God, how do other guys do this?" Carlos griped to me as he sat down beside me, clutching a Budweiser. "I mean, when they go to Las Vegas or whatever."

"They have Vegas to take their minds off of their girls," I replied, gripping my own can of beer. I wasn't one for drinking, none of us were, but I was very glad that Griffin had insisted that it wasn't a bachelor party without beer. He had been nice enough – yes, I said _nice_ – to supply us with enough beer to keep the German army happy for a couple of decades.

"I'm bored out of my fucking mind," Carlos moaned as he took a swig from the can. "All I really want to do is hang out with Stephanie and catch up with her."

"All I really want to do is tease Katie and talk with her," I replied as I drank from my can as well. "I miss her."

"I miss Stephanie."

"I miss Camille," Logan groaned as he came over to us.

"And I miss Jo," Kendall complained.

Gustavo chose that moment to walk out from where he had been DJ-ing, and try out one of his infamous pep talks on us. "DOGS!" he bellowed. "WE HAVE JUST PUT THE LAST WEEK INTO PLANNING THIS PARTY, AND I WILL BE DAMNED IF WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE FUN!"

Kendall shook his head. "Sorry, but I'm already too nervous about tomorrow to have much fun in any case. I think I'm going to head home and go to bed. Guys, thanks for the awesome party. Gustavo, thanks for your car." And with that, he swiped the keys from Gustavo's belt key ring and headed off, twirling the keys around his finger and smirking.

"Well, we just lost the groom-to-be," Logan muttered.

"Maybe if we get drunk enough, everything will seem a whole lot more fun!" Carlos suggested.

"Or we'll just wake up with massive headaches," I shot back.

"Maybe…"

I glanced at my watch. It was nearly 10:30. Damn. Was it too early to head home?

I leaned back in my seat and pulled my phone out absentmindedly. Before I knew what I was doing, I found myself scrolling through a mess of text messages that Katie and I had sent back and forth over the past couple of months. I switched to the pictures and smiled as I looked through the album. There were dozens of pictures of Katie and me, and I felt myself begin to smile. There were pictures of her when she was only about eleven or twelve, and then there were some that I had snapped just a month or so ago, probably without her permission. She was so beautiful…

"Anyone order four cute girls?

My head snapped up and I spun around in my chair, still clutching my phone and my beer, to find Katie, Camille, Stephanie, and Gabi step into the room.

It was Katie who had spoken. She struck a pose with her hand on her hip, and a smirk crossing her face.

"See, I told you," Stephanie said to the others. "Guys don't know how to party without girls."

"We do too!" Logan protested from where he was lying on the couch, playing games on his phone. "See how much fun we're – "

"Stephanie! You saved us! We were so, so, soooo bored, and we missed you girls so, so, so, so, so, soooo much!" Carlos cried and launched himself at Stephanie. She laughed as she hugged him and smirked at Logan who scowled.

"Funny," I commented as I got to my feet, still holding my beer, "Logan, weren't you just saying that you missed Camille?"

"I – well – I – yes, I did," Logan admitted quietly, hanging his head in defeat.

Camille threw herself across the room and settled in his lap. "Oh Logikins! I missed you too!" and she kissed him with enough passion to make the couch begin to smoke. I was shocked that there weren't flames leaping from the cushions.

Gabi cocked her head to the side and grinned at Katie and me. "I'm going to go hang out with DJ Gustavo. It looks like he's having fun."

And she hurried off towards the huge man who was spinning records and bobbing his head to the beat.

I turned to Katie who grinned. "So, you miss me?" she asked me teasingly.

"Actually, I did," I admitted. "It was boring without you here to go falling into my lap."

She shoved me as she laughed. "Don't make me bring up the male seamstress."

I shuddered. "That was a nightmare."

"Even though he probably wasn't even gay?"

"Same difference."

Cartel's song _Lesson In Love_ came on, and I held out my hand to Katie. "Dance with me?"

Her smile grew even bigger. "Of course."

I set my beer down on a table and she took my hand. I spun her around under my arm and dipped her back smoothly.

"You know, something about this seems familiar," she told me.

"Is it a good familiar or a bad familiar?" I asked her.

"Definitely good."

"So did you manage to embarrass Jo and Camille?" I queried.

"As a matter of fact, I did, but both Jo and Gabi got me pretty good too."

"Which one brought up the closet-incident?" I questioned her, smirking as she blushed.

She glared at me. "Jo."

"And what did Gabi say?"

Her face went even redder. "None of your business."

"Oooh…it's personal…" I spun around, still holding Katie's hand, and hollered across the room, "Yo, Gabi! What did you say during _I Never_ that embarrassed Katie?"

"I'm never telling!" Gabi called back to me. "I'll embarrass her in front of a whole bunch of random people, but not in front of a hot guy who she made out with in a storage cupboard."

"It was a closet," I corrected her.

"Whatever."

I turned my attention back to Katie. "Are you sure you won't tell me?" I pouted. I made sure my eyes were huge and puppy-dog like, so that she couldn't resist, but she just smirked and gave me _her_ puppy-dog eyes. Crap.

"Can't you just drop it?" she asked pleadingly.

_She's just trying to get you to stop asking_, I told myself. _But who can resist those eyes_?

"All – all right," I agreed, stuttering a bit.

She smiled. "Good. Thanks James." And she dropped my hand and flounced back to the row of chairs Carlos and I had been sitting in earlier. Carlos and Stephanie were dancing themselves, but they were off-beat, and they weren't paying any attention to the direction they were going in.

I reclaimed my beer, grabbed a wine cooler for Katie, made a mental note to never tell Mama Knight or Kendall that I had given her alcohol when she was only seventeen, chewed myself out for a moment for being such a terrible adult, gave up on the argument, and joined Katie, popping the cap before handing her the wine cooler.

She took it from me with a "thanks" and took a sip.

"You used to sneak me wine coolers when I was fifteen, because you thought I should be able to try alcohol," she reminisced.

"Hey, I was doing my part to ensure you never got a DUI," I informed her haughtily. "My reasoning was that if you had access to alcohol, then you wouldn't abuse it."

"Well, I'm seventeen, and I have yet to be caught driving under the influence."

"Make sure you never do."

"Yes _sir_, anything you say _sir_!" she replied back like a marine addressing her drill sergeant.

"Smart ass."

"You know it."

"So you girls got here fairly early. Was Jo's bachelorette party completely boring?" I asked.

Katie took another sip from the bottle. "No, it was kind of fun…not crazy fun, but still fun. But Jo was tired so the party broke up early. Stephanie suggested we come and join you guys, so…"

"Well, I'm glad you did," I told her sincerely.

She turned to look at me and smiled. "So am I."

Thanks to the girls, the bachelor party turned out to be a lot of fun, even though the groom-to-be had left. We stayed out until nearly one in the morning, talking, dancing, eating, and laughing until we were all stumbling around and nearly falling flat on our faces from exhaustion.

"Come on," Camille said with a yawn as she clung to Logan. "We all have to be up early tomorrow, we should go home."

We said goodbye to Gustavo, promised to make Kendall bring his car back tomorrow morning, and then headed out to the parking lot. Once we were out there, we split up – Camille, Logan, Stephanie, and Carlos drove back to the Palmwoods in Camille's car, Logan sitting in the passenger seat and Carlos and Stephanie cuddled together in the back, while Katie and Gabi came with me in the BTR mobile, with me driving and Katie riding shotgun. Gabi was curled up in the back, eyes closed, although I doubted that she was sleeping – I had the distinct feeling that she was trying to eavesdrop on Katie's and mine conversation.

"Tonight turned out to be really fun after all," Katie proclaimed, covering her mouth as she yawned. She leaned back against the headrest, and turned her head to smile at me.

I took my eyes off of the road long enough to grin at her. "Turns out Kendall, Carlos, Logan, and I taught you well."

"How so?"

"You crashed the bachelor party. That's something that we might've done."

"It was Stephanie's idea. Well, actually it was Gabi's idea first, but I originally shot it down."

"But aren't you glad you did come?"

"Yeah, I am. It was a lot more fun than just sitting around, watching reruns of stupid shows on TV."

"Well, we are a lot more entertaining than mainstream television," I reminded her.

She smirked. "I couldn't agree more."

"So…your brother's getting married tomorrow. How do you feel?"

She shifted in her seat, pulling her legs up. "I'm actually really excited for him. I mean, I think he's really young to get married, but he and Jo really love each other, and that's the most important part. I think he would have married her even if she wasn't pregnant, I really do. And…"

"Yeah?" I glanced at her before switching lanes and getting into the left turn lane.

"I really love the bridesmaid dress. So James, thank you for picking it out, because if it wasn't for you, I'd probably have to wear some horrendous, pink, lacey, puffy concoction that could pass for a Valentine's day cupcake."

I laughed at the description. "Oh, wow. I just got this mental picture of you wearing that, and it's fucking hilarious!"

She glowered at me, but her lips were tugging upwards into a reluctant smile. "You're just lucky you're the one who's driving because otherwise I would totally smack you."

"Thank God you're not into the idea of having your head smashed into the windshield."

"Yeah, lucky you."

I pulled into the Palmwoods parking lot and parked the car.

Gabi, right on cue, jolted to life, and glanced at the hotel. "Oh, good, you didn't kill us on the way home. Congratulations, James, your driving has improved since the last time I saw you." And before I could retaliate, she unbuckled her seatbelt and slipped out of the car.

"She was totally eavesdropping, you know that right?" I said to Katie.

She laughed and nodded her head. "Typical Gabi. You've gotta love the girl, she's a character."

She put her hand on the door handle, but before she could get out of the car, I called to her, "Could you do me a favor, Batie-Bear?"

Katie turned back to me. "Depends. What is it?"

"Could you save me a dance tomorrow at the reception?"

She smiled and bit her lip, before nodding her head. "Yeah, I will."

And then she opened the door and got out of the car herself. I followed suit and together we headed up to the apartment, not talking, but no doubt thinking about what tomorrow had in store for everyone.

* * *

><p><strong><em>So, I know the whole 'let's crash the bachelor party' thing was about as realistic as the grass changing naturally to purple, but I just had to include it, it was too crazy of an idea to let it go.<em>**

**_This chapter might seem a little bit unorganized, and if it is, that's because I was having a lot of trouble keeping all the details straight, so if I'm off on any of the details, or if something just doesn't seem right, then I'm very sorry._**

**_I'm probably becoming infamous for wickedly long A/Ns, so I'll do my best to keep this one brief. In fact, I think I might be finished. I'll just put in that Chapter 15 will probably be the last actual chapter, and then after that will be the epilogue, and then the story will be done._**

**_Oh, plus...The review button has been really down and moody lately, and when it gets upset, it tends to eat a lot of junk, and not exercise. But unfortunately, it's getting stretched out, and I'm getting worried about it! But reviews ensure that it gets exercise, so please review, for the review buttons sake, and my mental health! :)_**


	15. Chapter 15 Insane WeddingCrazy Reception

_**CHAPTER 15 IS FINALLY UP! WHOOO!**_

_**Disclaimer: Let me just make this simple: I do NOT own Big Time Rush. If I did, their second album would already be out in stores, and their next episode would have already aired.**_

_**I AM SO, SO, SO, SO, SOOOOOOOOOOOO INCREDIBLY SORRY about how long it took for me to get this chapter up - over a week! But this chapter turned out to be ridiculously long for me - 12,975 words and 32 pages. The chapter didn't turn out the way I thought it was going to, but I think it ended up even better than what I originally pictured...but I'll let you guys decide ;)**_

_**Scars of Your Love: Thank you for your review! And wow! Thank you! That's so incredibly nice! That makes me happy, I'm so glad this story has made you laugh so much, and that you're able to reread this story! That's truly amazing! I'm definitely going to write more Jatie stories, hopefully in the near future. Thank you again! :)**_

_**Jilliy: Thank you for reviewing! In that case, you're very welcome, but still...thank you! That means so much! THANK YOU! :)**_

_**Jatie 4 ever: Thank you for your review! And thank you! I'm so glad you liked the last chapter! Thank you! In that case I'm going to try to make my next Jatie story(s) epic! :)**_

_**THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED, ALERTED, OR FAVORITED THIS STORY! YOU ARE ALL SO AMAZING!**_

_**And special thanks to xxxBookwormLonerxxx for making another appearance in this chapter as Gabi! **_

_**And THANK YOU to everyone who has PMed me to ask me when I'm going to update! If I could, I would hug you guys! :) :) :) :)**_

_**Warnings: OFFENSIVE language, mild violence, and mild sexual references. **_

**_A/N: The word "fag" is in here, and I'm so sorry if anyone's offended, that wasn't my intention, but it's used by one of the low-life characters, and it fit the situation. I hated writing it out, but it felt necessary. I just wanted to let everyone know. :)_**

**_And once again, I'm so sorry it took me so long to update! This chapter definitely had a mind of its own, but I'm hoping it turned out okay._**

**_ENJOY!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 15 – Insane Wedding, Crazy Reception<strong>

**James's POV**

Morning came way too quickly. Mama Knight had us all up at eight-o-clock, because we had to collect everything we would need for the day before heading out to Mr. Taylor's van – yes, as horrific as it was, he was driving us down to the church. And yes, we were all petrified.

Mrs. Knight was planning on heading down to the airport that afternoon to pick up family and friends who had managed to catch a flight out to LA and didn't want to rent a car. They might have been out here sooner, but since it was summer, almost every flight from now until next January was booked solid.

It would have been a replay of the morning before, except that we all had so much energy and were so excited about the day ahead of us that it was impossible for us to feel tired.

We showered, threw on our street clothes, and ate breakfast before gathering the supplies that we would need for the wedding, and dumping them in two separate boxes, one for the guys, one for the girls.

"So how was the bachelor party after I left?" Kendall asked as he dropped a comb, a washcloth, and a bar of soap into the box.

"It was good. Katie, Gabi, Camille, and Stephanie showed up," I told him as I stuffed my Cuda products into the box on top of Kendall's stuff.

Kendall frowned. "I thought the point of a bachelor party was for it to be _all male_."

"Okay, so it turned into more of a _get-together_," I replied, adding my comb to the mess. "But hey, it turned out to be a lot of fun. You should have stayed."

Kendall shook his head. "Nah, I was better off at home."

"Did you go straight to bed then?" I asked as I straightened up and eased a cramp out of my mid back.

"Ummm…something like that…"

"You're not supposed to see the bride before the wedding!" I protested.

"I didn't!" Kendall insisted.

"Then what did you – ?"

"Honestly Carlos, you're getting to be as bad as James," Logan said as he and Carlos walked into Kendall's and his bedroom. Carlos was carrying an armload of cologne, moisturizer, and hair gel.

"What?" he asked innocently. "I just want to make sure I look and smell good. That's not illegal, is it?"

"And what do you mean he's getting to be as bad as me?" I cried, glaring at Logan.

"Uh, you have every single product Cuda ever made, all piled in the cardboard box on my bedroom floor."

"That's a technicality."

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, what were you saying before we walked in?"

"Kendall made it sound like he slept with Jo last night, but when I asked him, he said he didn't."

"Well…" Kendall stepped from side to side awkwardly. "No one ever took my phone away."

Logan, Carlos, and I all face-palmed. Of course! That was probably why Jo had ended her bachelorette party early and why Kendall left the studio, because they wanted to talk to each other and they knew we would confiscate their phones if they called each other in front of us. It figures.

"Hey," Kendall said, and we all turned to him, expecting him to be defensive. "You guys didn't let Katie drink beer, did you?"

Logan rolled his eyes. "Of course not, do you really think we would try to get your sister drunk?"

"Well," Carlos began slyly, "James might."

"I would not!" I cried. "I will have you all know that I respect Katie, and I would never try to get her drunk, and I certainly would never take advantage of her – that is what you were all thinking, right?"

The others all glanced at each other guiltily.

"Sorry James," Logan murmured.

"Yeah, sorry. Of course you wouldn't," Carlos added.

"Yeah, we all know you'd treat Katie with respect," Kendall said.

"Good," I told them with a nod. "Because I really like Katie, and I don't want anyone thinking that I would treat her like crap, because I wouldn't. I actually care about her."

Logan and Carlos glanced at each other.

"That's a first for him," Logan proclaimed.

"I guess anything really _is_ possible," Carlos put in.

"You all have such faith in me," I said sarcastically.

"Well, can you really blame us?" Logan asked with a shrug. "Considering your last girlfriend is an evil bitch who thinks that having sex with Jett Stetson in public places and then spreading rumors about you and Katie is fun…"

"Okay, okay, I get your point."

Once everything was packed into the box, we headed out to the van, where Mr. Taylor was waiting. Jo and Kendall weren't allowed to see each other before the wedding, so she was riding with Stephanie and Camille down to the church. Kendall was picking Gustavo up in Gustavo's car, before joining us at the church. That meant that we were less squashed then we were the day before, but the ride over was still as dangerous as it had been the day before.

We were all ghostly white and shaking by the time we were able to get out of the van. We walked into the church, and Katie hugged us all before hurrying away to join Jo, Camille, and Stephanie in the girls' dressing room. I watched her go, my eyes following her every step, before I was jolted back to reality by Logan and Carlos, both of whom clapped hands on my shoulders.

"You'll see her in a few hours, probably before that," Logan told me sympathetically.

"Yeah, you won't have long to wait," Carlos added.

I nodded. "I know. Come on, let's go figure out what we need to do next."

* * *

><p><strong>Katie's POV<strong>

"So how was the drive over here?" Jo asked once I slipped into the dressing room.

"A complete nightmare," I answered at once. "Seriously, I think I'm on the verge of having a heart attack. Your dad nearly jumped the curve _twice_!"

Jo winced. "Wow, he was doing so well yesterday."

Oh. Wow. Now that was terrifying. He was the definition of road rage. I was pretty sure that if I cared to look the term up in the dictionary there would be a picture of him next to the description.

"So Jo, how do you want your hair?" Camille asked as she showed the hairdressers and makeup artists into the room.

Jo began to describe the style she had had in mind when Camille's phone beeped. She pulled it out and her jaw dropped. "Holy crap!" she yelped. "Oh no! Oh, poor Kyle!"

"What?" I cried as I rushed over to her.

"Jett's sending around this interview that he did a couple of days ago. He out-ed Kyle!"

I gasped. "_No_!"

"Who's Kyle?" Stephanie asked in confusion.

"Kyle Margolis, the star of _Farlington Falls_?" Jo reminded her. "He lives at the Palmwoods, and he and Katie are really close…but we just found out last week that he's gay and is in love with James."

"He has a crush on James, he's not in love with him," I snapped. "Oh God, please tell me that's not in the interview!"

Camille scanned it. "Nope, doesn't look like it. But Jett has definitely announced to the world that Kyle is gay."

My heart was beating faster, my head spinning. Did Kyle know? If he did, was he okay? Oh my gosh, how could Jett do something so nasty? Oh, wait, he was just a nasty person, with no soul. That's why.

I pulled my phone out of my purse, and saw that I had a text from Jett. Shit. I opened the text and saw the words: Check out this link. I clicked on it and it sent me to the interview that Camille had just been talking about. I skimmed through it just long enough to assert the amount of damage that was done. I felt like vomiting. My stomach was nauseated, and my breathing was picking up. I got out of the article and instead speed-dialed Kyle. His phone rang four times before he picked up. His voice was hoarse and he sounded like he might have been crying.

"Hey Katie," he choked out.

"You saw the interview that Jett-shoot-his-own-mother-if-he-got-her-money-Stetson did?" I asked, feeling like crying myself. How _dare_ Jett do something like this!

"Yeah…At least he didn't bring up James," Kyle replied, sounding like he was trying to act cheerful, but not quite succeeding.

"Kyle…Ohmigosh, I'm so sorry! Do you want me to come over? Cuz I can if you need me to."

"Katie, your brother's wedding is today. I wouldn't dream of pulling you away."

"You're my best friend," I snapped. "And the wedding isn't for another three hours. I've got some time."

"Uh, no you don't!" Gabi called over to me.

"Yes I do!" I snarled at her.

"Katie, traffic in Los Angeles, on a Saturday is a nightmare, you have to do your hair and makeup, and all that will take up two hours. Plus, Kyle's going to need more than an hour's worth of comfort."

The girl made sense. But that didn't mean I had to like it.

"Fuck all of it! I am so sick and tired of having everything shoved in everyone's faces! I'm going, and if I see Stetson on the way, I'm going to throw water on him and laugh maniacally as he melts!"

There was a pause, and then Camille asked, "How're you planning on getting there?"

I glanced out the window just in time to see my big brother and his boss pull up in the church parking lot. "Bingo."

I grabbed my purse and raced out into the lobby without another word. James was there, pouring over the seating arrangements.

"Hey Katie," he greeted me. "What's up?"

I didn't even answer him. I could feel an adrenaline rush, the rush that had hit me when I had discovered what Jett had done. It froze my brain, and just made me react to my surroundings, which is why I did what I did next. I grabbed him and kissed him with as much passion as I could muster. I could feel his lips working against mine, his tongue intertwining with my own, his hand on my back. His fingers slipped under my shirt, running up my spine and I crawled into his lap, running the pads of my fingers over his perfectly defined washboard abs.

He broke away first, gasping for breath. "Katie – what the hell – ?"

"Sorry, no time to talk," I said quickly as I remembered why I had come barreling out of the dressing room in the first place. I slid off his lap, straightening my shirt out. James looked beyond shocked, and his eyes were slightly glazed, as if he couldn't quite fathom what had just happened.

"Jett-motherfucking-Stetson decided to go and out Kyle – I have to go talk to him."

"Kyle or Stetson?"

"Kyle, but if I have my way, Stetson's face will connect with my fist on my way there."

"I'll come," James volunteered, standing up himself.

"I – what?"

"I'll come," James repeated. "How're you going to get there?"

"I'm going to steal Gustavo's car, but – "

"Have you ever driven that thing?"

"Ummm…no…"

"It's got a lot of power in it. You've never driven anything with that much power."

"It's a fucking mustang! Lots of people drive them – including teenage girls."

"This one was specially made, with a specially made engine – I think it might be a V-12."

"That's crazy."

"That's my point."

"Look, if you leave, then Jo and Kendall will lose two people, instead of just one."

"I'll drive you back to the Palmwoods, drop you off, and then come back here and tell everyone what happened, if the girls haven't already."

"Fine," I agreed. "But first we have to steal the keys from Gustavo – that is, if Kendall's given them back to him yet."

"I guess we'll find out when we go out there," James said logically – which just sounded weird, considering it was James Diamond.

We walked out of the lobby and into the parking lot, where Kendall and Gustavo were still standing by Gustavo's 2011 red mustang, arguing about stealing Gustavo's car. There was a certain irony in this... The key ring hung from Gustavo's belt, signifying who had the keys to the car now.

"Sorry about this," I apologized, before swiping the keys from Gustavo's belt and tossing them to James, who caught them neatly.

"Wait – WHAT? WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU TWO ARE GOING?" Gustavo roared.

"Sorry, no time to explain," I informed him as James unlocked the car. We hopped into the front seats, James slid the key into the ignition, slammed the gears into reverse, pressed down on the gas pedal, and we went flying halfway out of the parking lot.

James cackled. "Sweet!"

"You're getting a power rush, aren't you?" I confirmed.

He nodded. "Yep! This is fucking awesome!"

I glanced around the window to see Kendall and Gustavo's jaws nearly hitting the ground as we sped out of the parking lot. Kendall was going to be really disappointed – he prides himself on being the rebellious member of Big Time Rush, and James had just stolen his limelight, not to mention his title. Sucks for him.

"Okay," I began, "I've gotta admit, that was flippin' awesome!"

James flashed me a grin. "See? Aren't you glad you took me up on my offer?"

"I suppose…"

"Hey, how did you find out about Stetson outing Kyle anyway?"

"Jett was texting everyone an interview that he did."

James awkwardly ran his hand through his hair. "He didn't mention me, did he?"

"No James, as far as I know, no mention of you came up."

"Oh, good, because that would be a hundred times worse for everyone."

Truer words had never been spoken.

Gabi had been right – traffic was a nightmare. James drove like a maniac – although not quite at Mr. Taylor's level of insanity – and it still took us a good ten minutes longer to get there than it normally would have.

Eventually though, we managed to get to the Palmwoods. I turned to face James to thank him, but before I could, he leaned over and pressed his lips against mine, his hand at my neck. I felt my hand drift up to his cheek as I kissed him back. After several intense seconds, I pulled away. "What was that for?"

He shrugged and smiled slyly. "I just thought I owed you one for kissing me in the lobby."

I grinned at him and pushed the door open, waggling my fingers at him. "Just don't go making out with random girls, okay?"

"You have my word."

I slid out, my head still spinning from the short, but intense kiss. I managed to keep my balance as I slammed the door shut, waved at James, and made a straight beeline for the Palmwoods hotel. James stayed in the drop off/pick up zone until I got safely into the lobby, before he pulled forward and drove through the parking lot, heading for the main drag.

I pulled my phone out and sent a quick text to Kyle to let him know that I had arrived, before heading for the elevator. I reached his floor and made my way to his apartment. I knocked on the door, and a few seconds later the door opened. Kyle stood there, looking worse than I had ever seen him. Gone was the cheerful, charismatic smile, and the perfectly styled clothes. In place was a pale face with red-rimmed eyes and sweats and a sweatshirt.

"Oh Kyle," I breathed out, before stepping forward and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him to me. He hugged me back, his grip tight, his face buried in my shoulder. He wasn't crying, but I had a feeling that had more to do with the fact that he had cried himself dry then with being brave.

"I'm so sorry," I murmured. "I'll personally hold Jett's hands behind his back so that you can punch him."

I felt Kyle's body shake as he laughed at my weak attempt at humor. "Thanks K."

He stepped back to look at me. "Do you want to come in?"

I nodded and he led me into his apartment, quickly closing the door once I was inside. I sat down on the couch, waiting for him to say something.

"So how did you find out?" he asked wearily as he sank down onto the cushions next to me.

Oh God. That means he didn't know that Jett was sending the text around.

"Oh Kyle…"

"Katie?"

Biting my lip, I reluctantly pulled out my phone and showed him the text and attached article Jett had sent probably the entire Palmwoods population.

"I'm so sorry," I told him sadly. I knew apologies weren't going to help any, but at least he would know that I sympathized with him…or pitied him…which wasn't good…

Kyle dropped his head into his hands after handing my phone back to me. "I can't believe he would do something like this. I mean, what did I ever do to him?"

I shrugged. "You did go out with his sister."

"And I dumped her. But still, this is pretty harsh. Isn't it?" he looked up at me with tears in his eyes.

I hugged him. "Yeah, it is. Don't worry, nothing you did would ever warrant this. Jett Stetson is going to pay for this. I'll personally make sure of it."

Kyle smiled weakly. "Thanks."

"It's going to be okay," I told him. "It really will be. Sure, people will be douche bags for awhile, but after awhile, everyone will accept you. And I'll always be here for you, and so will the guys. James even drove me so that I could get over here."

"James came?"

"Yeah…"

"How is he? Jett didn't mention him, did he?"

I shook my head. "No. No, he didn't. James's name never came up."

"Oh good."

"Kyle? How do you feel about James?"

Kyle shrugged. "How am I supposed to feel? I haven't seen him recently, what with the wedding and everything."

"I mean, do you still have feelings for him?"

Kyle glanced away from me. "Why are you asking me this, Katie? Is it just out of friendly curiosity or something else?"

"Kyle…"

He got to his feet and strolled away from me, over to the window. "Katie, what're _your_ feelings towards James? It's okay, you can tell me, I swear I won't throw myself off of the hotel roof."

"I made out with him today, right before I told him what had happened with Jett outing you," I admitted.

"So you guys are going out?"

"No. But I think we both like each other more than we care to admit."

Kyle shrugged. "Whatever. At least one of us can have him."

"Kyle, that's not fair. You make it sound like we're in competition for James Diamond's affections."

"Katie, we could never be in competition, because that makes it sound like its fair. James Diamond is straight, and you're a girl. You always had the advantage."

I leapt to my feet. "Kyle, up until last week I had a huge crush on you! It had never crossed my mind that you're gay! It's not my fault that James is straight and you're gay, just like it's not your fault!"

"Well, it'd be easier if it was your fault!" he yelled back at me. "It'd be easier if it was someone's fault! It'd be easier if I wasn't the way I am! Do you know how many times I've wished that I could be straight? Ever since you admitted that you liked me, I wished that I was heterosexual, so that I could see you as more than a friend! But I can't! Do you know how much this sucks?"

I walked over to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "You're the way you are for a reason, Kyle! I'm not sorry that you're homosexual, and I hate that you wish that you were different! I hate that Jett has made you feel this way, and I hate that James and I hurt you so badly! And I'm sorry! I'm sorry because I know I'm a huge part of this fucked-up situation, and because there's nothing I can do to help you! But you're my best friend and I love you as a friend and nothing is ever going to change that."

Kyle wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him, hugging me again. "I know, K. I'm sorry. I'm just…"

"Frustrated? Angry? Hurt? In the mood to do a little Jett-Stetson hunting?"

"Yeah, pretty much, and a huge hell yes to the last choice."

"Then I'll get the rifle and you grab the fuzzy handcuffs – we'll use them as bait."

Kyle choked out a laugh. "How did it come to this, Katie? How did we end up fighting over the same boy? How did we end up being a cause of each other's misery?"

I smiled. "Just a consequence of growing up, I guess."

Kyle stepped away from me. "Thanks for coming here, even though you didn't have to. I – I appreciate it. I know I sometimes take you for granted, but I really do need you. You're my best friend."

"Kodak moment!" I cried, and pulled my phone out of my pocket, slipping my around him and he slid his arm around me. We grinned into my phone's camera and I snapped the picture. "Perfect," I

announced.

"You know something K?" Kyle said, sounding amused.

"What, K?"

"You have a knack for ruining sweet moments."

I shrugged. "Sweet moments make me go all tingly, and I can't stand the feeling for more than a few seconds."

Kyle laughed, shaking his head. "Only you, Katie Knight."

"Only me, Kyle Margolis."

There was a pause, and then I asked, "Are you going to be able to come to the wedding? It starts at five, but I have to be back at the church by four, at the latest."

Kyle nodded. "I was planning on it."

"Even with Jett and the article?"

"I'll manage. My parents will be with me, so I should be okay."

"Have you told your parents about…?"

"About my sexual orientation? Yeah, I did it a few days ago. They were beyond shocked, but they'll live with it. My dad's a bit pissed, I guess, but Mom's been great about it. She's arranged for me to join a support group for people who have just come out of the closet."

I smiled. I liked his mom. I didn't really know his dad, but he seemed like a decent person. Both of his parents worked fulltime, even on Saturdays, because they were both involved with the behind-the-scenes processes of show business.

"And there's always me," I reminded me. "We can hang out at the reception."

"Aren't you going to want to spend time with James?"

"Not if it's going to hurt you," I said sincerely.

Kyle shook his head. "I'll be okay. I promise."

We spent the next hour and a half just hanging out, catching each other up on everything interesting that had been happening. I had plenty of wedding preparation stories to tell, and he had a couple of on-set stories that were beyond hilarious.

It was 3:15 when his mom walked into the apartment, followed by his dad.

"Hi, Katie," Mrs. Margolis greeted me, smiling at me. She had soft brown hair that was always loose

around her face, and even in a designer suit and heels she still didn't look cutthroat, although I imagine she must be, since she's gotten so far up in the business.

"Hey, Mrs. Margolis, hey Mr. Margolis," I replied, smiling back at them.

Mr. Margolis offered me a small grin. "Today's your brother's wedding, right? Shouldn't you be at the church, getting ready?"

"Trying to get rid of me?" I joked.

"Who, me? Of course not!"

"Mom, Dad," Kyle suddenly said, standing up. "Katie's here because Jett Stetson sent around a text with an attached article – he did an interview and he out-ed me."

Mr. Margolis frowned. "You mean he – ?"

Kyle nodded. "He told the entire world that I'm gay."

Mrs. Margolis gasped. "He _didn't_."

And suddenly I understood why she was so high up on the show business ladder. The expression on her face was beyond terrifying.

Mrs. Margolis pulled her Blackberry out of her suit pocket and immediately began dialing a number. "I'll make sure that all of his sexual exploits are leaked. And if that doesn't work, I'll make sure he never works in this town again. How _dare_ he do this to my son…!"

Mr. Margolis watched his wife lovingly. "Well Katie, thank you for coming over to be with Kyle. It's nice to know that he has such a good friend."

I nodded. "It wasn't a big deal."

I glanced at the time on my phone. "Since you guys are home, I think I better get going, Kendall and Jo are probably both out for my blood by this point."

I called James to let him know that I was ready for him to pick me up.

"I'll walk you down to the lobby," Mr. Margolis volunteered, and so I hugged Kyle goodbye with the promise of seeing him in a few hours, and left the apartment with his father.

He escorted me to the elevator, and then out into the lobby.

"Thanks for walking me down," I said, even though I was a little confused as to why he wanted to make sure I got safely through my home. "James will probably be here in a few minutes."

"Katie," Mr. Margolis placed a hand on my arm. "The real reason why I wanted to escort you down here was to ask what your opinion is of Kyle's…sexual orientation."

I looked him steadily in the eye. "It doesn't bother me. I mean, it's complicated a couple of things, but it's just a change that we all need to adjust to. It's only a big deal if we turn it into one, and I've chosen not to. He's still the same guy who used to play arcade games in the movie theater with me. He just has a better idea of who he is now." I paused. "Why? What's _your_ opinion of it?"

Mr. Margolis ran his hand through his neatly trimmed dark hair. Kyle definitely resembled his father, even though he had his mother's eyes. "It's just weird to think of your son as being into, well, other people's sons. I don't know if this makes any sense to you, you're only seventeen, but – "

"Mr. Margolis, I used to have a crush on Kyle. And it's bizarre, after watching him date girl after girl, to think of him as being into guys. But I think I'll get used to the idea eventually."

Mr. Margolis nodded. "I see where you're coming from. I won't lie. I'm not…I'm not thrilled about this, but I can handle it. I won't cast him out into the street, or just abandon him, or…or…disown him, or not love him anymore. And I think you're right – eventually I'll be able to accept that this is who he is, but it's going to take some time."

"He didn't really say anything, but I know if it was me, I would want you to at the very least _try_ to understand. I mean, as much as you can."

"Curtis knew before we did. Did you know that?"

I nodded. "I think I did…it's a long story…and very confusing…But yeah, I did."

I just hadn't known that Kyle had been telling Curtis that he was gay and liked James. But it still counted, right?

My phone vibrated and I pulled it out to see a text from James: **I'm here**.

I quickly texted back: **Be out in a minute**, and turned back to Mr. Margolis. "James is here, so I gotta go. But just…try to see things from an object point of view, and tell Kyle how you're feeling. But _be gentle_, because he's had a really tough time of it lately. I'll see you later."

Mr. Margolis nodded and held his hand out. I shook it, and he smiled. "Thanks Katie, I'm really hoping that things will get a bit better after we've all had some time to adjust to this sudden…development. Now, you better get outside to James before he comes in here to drag you back to your brother's wedding, and I better get upstairs to help my wife ruin Jett Stetson's career. This should be fun! I never liked that no-good-son-of-a-bitch-lousy-excuse-for-an-actor anyway."

I laughed. "I used to. And then I grew up."

Mr. Margolis nodded again. "Good for you. I'll see you tonight, Katie."

"See you later."

I left the hotel and found James waiting in Gustavo's car, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. "There you are!" he exclaimed. "Get in! If I don't have you back at the church by four, a certain

part of my anatomy that I would very much like to keep is at stake."

I cackled as I slid into the passenger's seat. "So are we talking about your hair or your – ?"

"Hair will grow back, Katie. This particular part won't. And stop laughing!"

"Start driving!"

"Oh, yeah." And he hit the gas pedal, speeding through the parking lot and out onto the road. Even though it was rush hour traffic, we still managed to get to the church within fifteen minutes, putting us at 3:50.

"See?" I said as we slammed the car doors shut. "You were freaking out about nothing."

"Katie…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know. A certain part of your anatomy was being threatened. Come on, let's get into the church."

We pounded up the steps and into the church lobby.

"I've got her!" James yelled.

Mom came scooting out of Jo's dressing room. "Katie Knight! I don't know whether to scream at you for abandoning your brother's wedding or hug you for being such a good friend to Kyle!"

"Technically, the wedding hasn't started, so she didn't actually abandon it…" James corrected her and then quickly trailed off when Mom glared at him.

"And I'm going to go get ready…See you in an hour, Batie-Bear."

* * *

><p><strong>James's POV (3 Hours Earlier)<strong>

I watched Katie pound up the steps and into the Palmwoods lobby. My lips were still tingling from the kiss here in the car, and, like always, I was still trying to wrap my head around what had just gone down in the last hour. How was it that when it came to Katie, I always got whipped around, pulled into the tidal wave?

I pulled away from the curve and out onto the main street. I tried to focus on the road, but my thoughts kept drifting, back to the kiss.

I'm not completely sure how I managed to get back to the church in one piece with my mind rolling all over the place, but eventually I pulled up in front of the church, to find Kendall and Gustavo _still_ standing there, bickering like dogs and cats.

I got out of the car, locked it, and tossed the keys up in the air. "Thanks for letting me borrow the car,

Gustavo. You don't mind if I keep the keys for a little while, do you? Katie's going to need me to pick her up in a couple of hours."

"Pick her up from _where_?" Kendall spat.

"From Kyle's," I answered. "Look, Jett out-ed Kyle in an interview, and sent a text with the article attached. I drove Katie down to the Palmwoods so that she could be with him."

"You know," Kendall began, "I still can't believe that little piece of shit, the one who's been lording it all over the place with all those girls, while my little sister drools after him, is actually into guys."

"Believe it," I said. "He's very much into males." I paused as I brushed past them, before turning around. "Aren't you guys going inside?"

"Not if we can help it," Gustavo answered. "It's a mess in there! Jen's freaking out because instead of twelve dozen red roses, the flower shop sent _one-hundred-and-twenty_ dozen roses."

My jaw dropped. "You're kidding."

"No, I am not. The entire church smells like a freaking flower shop that only sells roses."

"At least if anyone shows up drunk, no one will notice the smell," I said cheerfully.

"PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE DRUNK?" Kendall yelped.

Oops. Guess that wasn't the best thing to joke about.

"No, no, no," I said soothingly. "I was joking, I wasn't serious."

"Oh, well…DON'T JOKE ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"

"I won't, I won't!"

"Since when does the leader of the Dogs not have a sense of humor?" Gustavo remarked.

"SINCE I'M GETTING MARRIED IN FOUR FUCKING HOURS!" Kendall roared.

"You're back!" Mrs. Knight came dashing outside and grabbed Kendall and me by the arms, and kicked Gustavo in the shins. "All of you, get inside and do something about the roses! James, where the hell is Katie?"

"At Kyle's," I answered. "Long story short, Jett out-ed Kyle in an interview, and Katie wanted to make sure he was all right."

"Ohhhh…well get her back here!"

"I can't, she'll kill me. Come on, Mama Knight, she's being a good friend, and she'll be back with plenty of time before the wedding."

Mrs. Knight rubbed her temples. "I'm too tired and frustrated to argue with you, so fine! But if that girl's late, I will personally make sure you two are our personal dishwashers for the reception!"

She hauled us all inside the church…and I nearly fell into the wall when the extremely strong scent of roses hit me full blast. Sensory…overload…fail…And was that _screaming_?

"Oh, you'll get used to the smell," Mrs. Knight assured me as she steadied me. "Just give it a half hour or so."

"Great," I muttered. "Awesome." I glanced around and nearly tumbled over again. There were piles of roses everywhere – on shelves, on chairs, on the tables, even on the ceiling fan. Oh, wow. Katie was going to be sorry she missed this.

"So how're we going to get all of the roses out of here?" Logan demanded. He came running in front of the conservatory, his hands and face bleeding. "Those flowers are lethal – I'm not carrying them out of here without some sort of body-armor."

"Where's Jo?" Kendall asked worriedly.

"She's in the dressing room with Camille and Stephanie," Mrs. Knight told him. "We thought it was best to keep her out of the mess – "

"LET ME OUT!" Jo screamed from her dressing room. So that's what that sound was.

" – So that she wouldn't freak out," Mrs. Knight finished as if Jo wasn't being imprisoned by her best friends. Wow. Their plan was working perfectly.

Kendall groaned as Jo began to screech obscenities at her friends. "I'll call the flower shop and have them remove most of the roses."

He pulled his phone out and walked away, dialing a number.

"And I'm still mad about first Kendall, then you, stealing my car!" Gustavo shouted at me, only it came out sounding slightly nasal, because he was pinching his nose to keep the overloading smell of roses from knocking him out.

"Sorry about that, but who else's car was I supposed to take?" I asked innocently.

I quickly rushed off before Gustavo could build up a head of steam and explode.

The flower shop arrived within an hour and an hour later, the smell of flowers had definitely faded – plus the church no longer looked like a rose forest.

It was about 3:30 when Katie called me. "Hey, I'm ready for you to come and pick me up," she said.

"Okay, I'll be there in fifteen minutes," I replied, before hanging up and calling to the others where I was going.

"It's about fucking time!" Kendall cried. "Camille and Stephanie are probably scratched up and bloody by now!"

Jo had never been let out of the dressing room – Camille and Stephanie had been forced to trap her inside for the past two hours. Occasionally we could hear her screeching like a crow at her maid of honor and second bridesmaid, but usually it was pretty quiet.

I headed outside and jumped into the car. The drive down to the Palmwoods took almost as long as the previous one due to rush hour traffic, but I still got there in less than twenty minutes, so I considered the mission a success.

I pulled up in the waiting/dropping off zone outside of the Palmwoods and texted Katie to let her know that I was there, and she texted back: **Be out in a minute**.

A couple of minutes later she came out and slid into the passenger's seat.

I watched as Katie went into Jo's dressing room. We needed to talk about everything that had happened between us, and badly. Maybe we could do that tonight…

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE CAN'T HOLD THE RECEPTION IN THE APARTMENT?" Mrs. Knight screamed into her cell phone as she came out from the kitchen. "THEN WHERE THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE WEDDING RECEPTION? I SWEAR TO GOD, REGINALD BITTERS – I WILL KILL YOU!" She clicked off and whipped around, eyes blazing. "I hate the bastard! He's just decided that we can't have the reception in the apartment."

Gustavo nearly choked on his own spit. "DOES HE KNOW HOW MUCH I'M PAYING HIM?"

"YES! But he's decided that it'll violate 'health codes'."

"What _health codes_?" I demanded.

"Apparently our apartment isn't big enough for more than fifteen people at a time."

I snorted. "That's ridiculous."

"That's what I said! But now…now where are we going to have the reception?"

Gustavo growled under his breath, then spat out, "You can have the reception at the studio."

We all turned to gape at him wordlessly.

"What? I can get some of my idiot employees to decorate the place. You just need to make sure that the caterers know where to bring the food."

Mrs. Knight nodded. "I can do that."

I looked over at Kendall. "Shall we go get ready?"

"Sounds good."

It only took us about a half hour to change and comb out our hair and use whatever gel Carlos and I had packed. People were beginning to arrive, so we guys went out there to chat up the guests. At five-o-clock on the dot, we headed into the conservatory and took our places.

My heart hammered in my chest so hard it felt like it could break my ribcage. I was so nervous, and I wasn't even the one who was getting married.

Most of the guests were already seated, and the last few trickled in and sat down on the benches, as we waited for the music to start.

I glanced at Kendall, who was standing a couple of feet in front of me. He was wiping his palms against his suit pants, and I knew he was even more scared than I was, but I was betting that if I could see his face, he would be beaming his head off.

I glanced at Logan, and then at Carlos. Logan was licking his lips and staring straight ahead. Carlos was fidgeting with the buttons on his suit jacket and kept shooting the aisle anxious glances.

And then the music began. The flower girl and ring bearer came walking down the aisle, the girl skipping along and throwing flowers in every direction imaginable, the boy trotting along after her, trying to keep the rings balanced on the pillow he was holding.

"Wait up!" he called to his sister, who paused in the middle of the aisle with her hands on her hips and turned to glare at her brother.

"Hurry up!" she ordered him.

"You're bossy!"

"You're slow!"

I covered my hand with my mouth to keep from laughing, and all around me, people were doing the same thing. Kendall had turned away from the audience and was trying to fake coughing, while Logan kept trying to clear his throat and Carlos was holding his breath.

The flower girl and ring bearer finally managed to get up to the platform and in their correct places. I put my hand on the ring bearer's shoulder and when he turned his head to look at me, I grinned at him.

"Oh…wow…" was all Logan managed to get out as Camille walked down the aisle, holding a bouquet of flowers. Her long, wavy dark hair fell down her back and her dress was stunning, almost identical to Katie's and Stephanie's.

Logan stepped forward and held his hand out to Camille, who placed hers in his palm. He helped her up onto the platform so that she wouldn't trip on her high heels.

"Oh…" my breath caught in my throat as I saw Katie. Her dress fit even more perfectly than I remembered, hugging every curve, and illuminating her lightly tanned skin. Her brown hair was curled and the top layer was twisted into an elegant bun at the back of her head, with the rest cascading down her back and shoulders.

Her eyes met mine and her smile widened. I grinned at her, completely forgetting to breathe. She was beyond beautiful.

She reached the platform and delicately stepped up to join the rest of us, hitching her dress up a couple of inches so that she wouldn't trip over it. I reached out and took her hand in mine as she mounted the steps. Our eyes met for a split second, just long enough for her to straighten up on the platform, and then we had to step away from each other.

We took our designated places again and then Stephanie began her descent down the aisle. She looked just as pretty as Camille did. Her dark brown hair was piled up on top of her head, and the dress emphasized her tall, slim frame, but I could barely take her in – I was too busy staring at Katie and trying to make it look like I wasn't staring.

Stephanie reached the steps and Carlos helped her up onto the platform just as Logan and I had done for Camille and Katie.

There. That was all of the girls. So next was…

* * *

><p><strong>Katie's POV (One Hour Before)<strong>

I walked into the dressing room and was nearly tackled by Camille, while Stephanie slammed and locked the door behind me, leaning against it.

"What is going on here?" I demanded.

"Long story," Stephanie panted while Jo glared at her and Camille. "But basically, there was an issue or two and Mrs. Knight asked Camille and me to keep Jo in here so that she can't panic."

"Looks like that's working well," I commented dryly. "Good Lord, what did I miss when I was at Kyle's?"

"Not too much," Camille assured me. "Come on, we need to get ready.

Around 4:30, the sounds of people walking into the lobby sifted through the locked door, and I could hear the guys talking to this person or that.

At about five, Mom knocked on the door to let us know that everyone was in their seats and it was time to get into position. We walked out and stood back. The flower girl and ring bearer were already there, arguing about whose job was more important.

"Mine is!" the girl yelled at her brother. "The flowers make everything pretty!"

"But Mommy says that Jo and Kenny can't get married without the rings!" the boy screamed back.

Mom patted the flower girl and ring bearer on their shoulders, chuckled, and hurried out to her seat.

The music began, and the flower girl yanked her brother forward. "Come on!"

They were halfway up the aisle when the boy cried, "Wait up!"

I could see the girl round on her brother. "Hurry up!"

"You're bossy!"

"You're slow!"

I could tell the audience was trying their hardest not to crack up. James had his hand covering his mouth although I could tell by the way his eyes lit up that he was smiling. I couldn't tell what Logan and Carlos were doing, but they both looked like they were fighting to keep straight faces. Kendall had his back turned, and I knew he was fighting to stay serious.

Camille, Stephanie, Jo, and I looked at each other and simultaneously burst out laughing.

"Maybe we should have rehearsed more," Jo managed to get out, before Camille realized that she needed to get down the aisle.

I watched as she went, smiling brightly. Logan helped her up the steps, and she took her place beside the flower girl.

And now it was my turn.

My stomach twisting around, my heart beating faster and faster by the second, I stepped through the doors and into the aisle. James's jaw dropped as I walked towards him, trying to remember to take small steps, and to not trip over my feet – I didn't need that kind of humiliation at my brother's wedding.

James was gorgeous in his suit with the gold rose pinned to his jacket. His hair was, as always, perfect, and his eyes were glittering.

He smiled as I reached the platform and he stepped forward and offered me his hand. I took it and he balanced me as I pulled the skirt of my dress up a few inches so that I could get up the steps without falling flat on my face.

In the split second that I stepped onto level ground, our eyes met, and a jolt of fire ran through me. But then we broke eye contact and we released each other's hands. I walked over to Camille and James went back to Logan, just as Stephanie began her stroll down the aisle.

I think Carlos nearly fainted when he saw her. He looked like he wanted to run over to her and sweep her up in his arms and carry her away into Carlos-Land. I don't know how he managed to stay still, but he did, until she was at the platform as well. Carlos helped her up gently and she smiled at him before they dropped hands and took up their positions.

All that was left now was Jo…

* * *

><p><strong>James's POV<strong>

The bridal march began, and the audience got to their feet as Jo and Mr. Taylor drifted down the aisle. Well, Jo drifted, and Mr. Taylor kind of shuffled, but no one noticed. Jo was beaming as widely as I suspected Kendall was, and tears were falling freely down her face, but she made no attempt to wipe them away. She was holding another bouquet of roses, just like what we guys were wearing in our buttonholes.

Jo looked stunning. Her wedding dress was more of a gown, sweeping over the ground, and layered with netting under the top skirt. There were silver designs on the skirt and pearls were sewn along the designs. The bodice was perfectly fitted and was strapless. Her long blond hair was twisted up on her head and held with a comb of pearls.

I'm pretty sure Kendall couldn't breathe. It seemed to be an ongoing fad with us guys in the last three minutes.

And then Jo and Mr. Taylor mounted the steps and took their places on the platform.

The music came to a stop and everyone sank back down into their seats. The pastor stepped forward and began to say his part about two people finding each other and how magical it was.

_Yes, it is_, I thought, gazing at Katie. _It's the best thing in the world_.

The pastor continued talking for the next fifteen minutes, and finally wrapped things up with, "Who gives this woman to this man?" Mr. Taylor stepped forward.

"I do."

"And who gives this man to this woman?"

Right on cue, Logan, Carlos, and I stepped forward, and uttered as one, "We do."

"Do you, Josephine Annette Taylor, take this man to be your husband? To love him, to care for him, through sickness and health, through poverty and wealth, through sorrow and joy?"

"I do," Jo whispered, but it still echoed throughout the room. Katie wiped at her eyes, and Camille was already sobbing, while Stephanie looked like she wanted to cry as well.

"And do you, Kendall Donald Knight, take this woman to be your wife? To love her, to care for her, through sickness and health, through poverty and wealth, through sorrow and joy?"

"I do," Kendall proclaimed, with so much emotion packed behind his words that it was all I could do not to start bawling myself.

Katie, Camille, and Stephanie simultaneously reached out and gripped each other's hands, tears now streaming down Katie's and Stephanie's faces as well while they all beamed with happiness.

"Then I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

And Kendall pulled Jo to him and he pressed his lips to her, their arms going around each other.

"YES!" Carlos yelled, and I punched the air while Logan cackled.

Katie flung herself at me, hugging me tightly and I wrapped my arms around her. I could smell her shampoo and the perfume she was wearing.

When we pulled apart, Kendall and Jo were still in a close embrace, although they were no longer kissing. Carlos and Stephanie were hugging too, as were Logan and Camille.

The ring bearer elbowed his sister. "What is with everybody hugging?"

Camille stepped away from Logan. "Because we're all very happy for Kendall and Jo."

"But hugging's gross!"

I winked at Katie. "Depends on who you're hugging."

"No it doesn't," the ring bearer insisted. "It's gross no matter what. Why are grownups always so gross?"

Stephanie laughed. "Maybe we're _trying_ to gross you out."

"That's mean!" the ring bearer cried.

"You're such a baby!" the flower girl informed her brother haughtily.

"I am not!"

"You are too! You always ask stupid questions!"

"I do not!"

"You do too!"

"Stop it!"

"Make me!"

"Okay, I will!"

"How? Are you gonna cry?"

Ah, brothers and sisters. Gotta love them.

Logan and I grabbed the ring bearer before he could launch himself at his sister.

Kendall and Jo finally came back down to earth long enough to take in the situation.

Jo groaned. "Is this what we're going to have to face in a few years?"

Carlos grinned. "Aren't you looking forward to it?"

"Don't make me punch you," Kendall warned him.

Carlos held his hands up. "Wouldn't dream of it."

"Come on, we're supposed to make the procession out of here," Jo said, tugging on Kendall's sleeve.

"Oh yeah. See you all out there." The two newly-weds sauntered down from the platform and walked out of the mostly empty room – people had been steadily leaving while we were trying to keep the ring bearer and flower girl from killing each other.

"Hey, do you know if Mama K ever let people know about the change of the reception's location?" I asked Logan and Carlos.

"Uh, yeah, she had to redo the programs, but people should know by now."

Katie raised her eyebrows. "What happened to the apartment?"

"Bitters changed his mind and decided to mess everything up," I explained.

"Oh, lovely. So where are we having the reception now?"

"The recording studio. Gustavo had some of his employees set things up, and your mom explained things to the caterers, so everything should be taken care of now."

"I hope so." Katie brushed at a stray strand of hair. "Come on, let's go see if they're throwing rice at the bride and groom yet."

We headed out in a group to the lobby where Kendall and Jo were greeting and thanking people. There were little boxes of rice on the various tables, and we each snatched a couple up.

The limo that Kendall and Jo had rented was waiting for them outside in the parking lot, so when they were finished with their _hello_s and _thank_ _you_s, they headed out.

And that was our signal for everyone who had yet to leave to race out after them, throwing rice at them.

Logan, Carlos, Katie, Camille, Stephanie, and I rushed up to them and dumped our entire boxes of rice over their heads, with Kendall yelling obscenities at us and Jo half screaming, half laughing. The photographer we had hired was snapping pictures galore, and Mrs. Knight was off to the side, laughing her head off, while Gustavo and Kelly just stood back, smirking and shaking their heads.

* * *

><p><strong>Katie's POV<strong>

"They're going to still be picking rice out of their head when Jo's in labor," Logan said in satisfaction while we watched the bride and groom drive away in their stretch limo.

"We did our jobs well," I agreed.

"And we're going to have to make sure to decorate their car during the reception," James added.

"I've got the Magic Markers and balloons," Carlos put in.

"And I've got the tape," Stephanie said, "because I was sure Carlos would forget it."

Carlos's eyes lit up. "Ohmigosh, I totally did! You know me so well!"

Camille laughed. "Come on guys, let's head on over to the reception."

We climbed into the limo that had been reserved for the bridal party and headed over to Rocque Records.

The DJ Rox was already cranking out songs when we walked into the studio. Mötley Crüe was playing, and I could see people dancing on the edge of the dance floor while they waited for food to be served. Thankfully, we had arranged it so that it was a buffet, and not a sit-down dinner. The food was being set up at the point, and more than half of the guests, plus Kendall, Jo, and Mom were already there.

"Looks like Gustavo and his poor, overworked employees saved the reception," I commented.

"We couldn't have done it without them," James added.

The waiters finished setting the food up and immediately there was a rush to grab the ribs and deep fried French fries. We were a classy bunch.

Kendall and Jo barely ate anything – they were too busy making the rounds, talking to their wedding guests.

James, Carlos, Logan, Camille, Stephanie, and I gulped down our food and spent just enough time inside to avoid suspicion, before tearing outside with the markers, tape, and balloons.

With furtive glances, James and I wrote _CONGRATULATIONS KENDALL AND JO_! on the back window of the car – a completely different one than the limo – that would whisk Kendall and Jo off to their honeymoon on one of the Caribbean islands. Carlos and Stephanie blew up the balloons while Logan and Camille taped the balloons to any spot on the car that didn't block the driver's view. Once James and I were finished writing on the back window, we darted around, drawing hearts on the windows as well to add a bit more decoration to the Mercedes Benz. By this time, it looked roughly like it had been leased to a daycare center with a whole bunch of kids running around with markers, balloons, sugar highs, and too much free time on their hands.

"Think they'll be surprised?" Carlos asked as we all stepped back to admire our handy work.

"Yeah, I think so," Logan said with a nod. "And once they get over their shock, they'll come looking for us with knives – "

"But it should take them at least an hour to get over their shock, so we should be pretty far away by that time," James finished.

Despite James's prediction that if we made a run for it we might survive, we all headed back into the building and up to the reception.

"Okay!" DJ Rox announced. "It's time for the bride and groom's first dance…Kendall, Jo, get out here onto the floor!"

Kelly Clarkson's song _A Moment Like This_ came on, and Kendall took Jo by the hand and led her onto the dance floor. They wrapped their arms around each other, holding each other close, as they swayed to the slow beat.

"They're so perfect together," Stephanie breathed out.

"Yeah, they are," Camille agreed.

"Katie! There you are!" I turned around to find Kyle and his parents coming towards us. Kyle and his father were both in suits and his mom was in a pink and white flower printed dress.

"Hey! You made it!" I cried, hugging Kyle.

"Hey, we wouldn't miss it for the world," he replied with a grin. He stepped back to look us all up and down. "Whoa, you all look fantastic."

"Thanks Kyle," Camille said with a smile.

"Who's this, Katie?" Stephanie asked me.

"Oh, Stephanie, this is Kyle Margolis, one of my best friends. Kyle, this is Stephanie King. Kyle moved into the Palmwoods a year after you left," I added.

"So this is Kyle!"

I spun around to find Gabi bounding towards us. "Aaaagh, sorry I'm late! Mom insisted on driving her rental and we got lost! So what'd I miss?"

"Kendall's probably going to kill us," James informed her.

"What else is new? Anyway, you must be Kyle. I'm Gabi Morrison, Katie's Minnesota BFF. You're her LA BFF, right?"

Kyle nodded, smiling. "That would be me. It's nice to finally meet you, Katie's told me so much about you."

"She's told me a lot about you. Man, you really are cute."

"And I'm gay," he added.

"Oh, I know," she assured him. "Which means I can flirt with you and you won't try to get into my pants."

Kyle's grin widened. "I think I'm going to like you."

Gabi smirked. "I tend to have that effect on people."

I put my arm around her. "As you can tell, Kyle, she's also as modest as a saint."

Gabi shoved me in the shoulder, laughing. "Smart ass."

"Would I be me if I wasn't?"

"And would I be me if I was _as_ _modest as a saint_?"

"Touché."

We all spent the next hour sitting in a corner, watching Kendall and Jo dancing. Mom and Mr. Taylor stopped shouting at each other long enough to dance a couple of songs. Kyle and Gabi really hit it off, surprise, surprise, and they spent half of their time teasing me. James made sure to pitch in and help them out with embarrassing me, while Logan, Carlos, Camille, and Stephanie made sure to stick up for me. The room got pretty hot with all the body heat, and at some point, each of the guys removed their jackets and rolled up their sleeves.

Stephanie got to her feet. "You guys want to step outside? It's getting too hot in here, I need a breather."

"Sure," Camille agreed, and we all stood up and headed out to the parking lot. The air was much cooler then inside, and the breeze whipped our hair and our clothes around, but it was pleasant, a nice counterpart to the hot and stuffy atmosphere inside the record studio.

"HEY, BITCH!" we all turned our heads to see Jett storming towards where we were all grouped. I hadn't seen him all evening, but I knew Jo had invited him since he was her costar, so for all I knew he might have been here the entire time, lurking in the shadows.

"Talking to your mirror, Jett?" James asked easily.

"I thought that was your job, Diamond," Jett retorted, fists clenched.

"Oh, it is, but I was afraid you might have stolen it right out from under me."

"Hah, hah, funny, Diamond. But I'm not here to talk to you – it's the little slut and her gay BFF who I want to talk to."

I nudged Kyle in the ribs and fake-whispered, "I think he means us."

"But it's hard to tell," Kyle replied, matching my tone of voice, "because he didn't say our names, he just gave us titles."

"What did you want, Jett?" Camille asked angrily, crossing her arms over her chest.

"That's Jett Stetson?" Stephanie demanded and appraised him with her eyes. "Wow, good thing he has to wear makeup on the show."

"I'm being threatened by the show because word got out about my – ahem – escapades!" Jett roared at us, answering Camille's question and ignoring Stephanie's remark.

I frowned. "I thought the paparazzi at that club that we all ran into each other at sold those stories."

"And they were buried! But the fag's mommy sent the story out to a whole bunch of national magazines and now I might get kicked off of _New Town High_!"

"Good," I retorted, crossing my arms like Camille and staring Jett down. "After what you did to Kyle, you deserve it."

"_He_ deserved being out-ed to the public," Jett seethed, taking a step towards me.

"Because I broke up with your sister?" Kyle asked, biting his lip.

"No! I was up for that role in _Time Bomb_ and you stole it from me!"

I frowned. _Time Bomb_ was an action movie that was about to undergo production. Kyle had scored the male lead, but Jett had been vying for the role as well.

"You out-ed him over a stupid role?" I demanded.

"It wasn't stupid! I would have gone from a lowly TV star to a powerful movie star! But oh no, Kyle Margolis just had to step in and steal it from me."

"I didn't steal it from you!" Kyle yelled, getting to his feet. "The director vetoed you after you made a lewd comment to his daughter! What did you expect him to do, give you a million dollar movie contract? Sorry Stetson, show biz doesn't work that way. You should know that better than anyone else."

"You little – "

"It wasn't Kyle's fault, it was your own damn one!" I screamed at Jett. "If you hadn't been such a fucking pervert you might be playing the lead, but instead you went and proved to the director that you weren't serious about landing the role, and that you would sexually harass his daughter while you were on set. You're a freaking idiot, and freaking hypocrite, and the world's largest douche bag!"

"You little bitch." Jett turned on me, his eyes blazing. "You have done nothing but ruin my life. And guess what – now I'm going to ruin yours." And he lunged for me. I stepped aside and before anyone could do anything else, James grabbed Jett and slammed him against the brick wall of the building.

"If you ever come near Katie again, or say anything about her, I will make sure that you're unrecognizable."

Jett spat at James. "And how are you planning on doing that? Make faces at me?"

James kneed Jett in the stomach. "I kicked your ass at the movie theater, but apparently not hard enough. But this time…"

"James, he's not worth an assault charge," I insisted.

James turned to look at me. His hazel eyes were smoldering, and I could see every line of his cheeks. His Adam's apple stood out even more than usual, and his breathing was heavy. "Katie, when will you learn that you're worth more to me than even a murder charge?"

I was completely speechless. I couldn't think of what to say.

"Oh, how touching," Jett sneered. "You are so whipped, Diamond – probably literally. Hey – have you guys worn out the handcuffs yet?"

And that's when James punched him in the face, before throwing him on the ground to continue beating the crap out of Jett…well, that is until James messed Jett's hair up. And then Jett got feisty.

Jett whirled James under him, sending an admittedly strong blow to James's jaw.

Logan and Carlos exchanged glances, before Logan winced. "I've gotta get new friends," he muttered, before he and Carlos dove into the brawl.

Kyle shrugged. "What the hell? I owe Stetson a couple of good punches anyway." And he joined the fight.

That left us girls standing there like statues, completely stunned at the street fight that was going on right in front of us. There were yells, curses, and the sound of fist hitting flesh.

Gabi shrugged. "Only one way to solve this." She stepped as close to the guys as she dared and stuck her fingers in her mouth, giving an ear-splitting whistle. We girls clapped our hands over our ears with cries of pain and the guys immediately stopped attacking each other.

"James," I said, coming forward towards him, "if you really care about me, please stop. Jett's already a bloody mess, and you – all of you actually – are headed in that direction. Jett isn't worth it, and you've already beaten him pretty badly. Please just let him leave – please don't fight because of me."

"Katie, the jackass insulted you," James said in confusion.

"Yeah, I know, I heard. But seriously, just let him go. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'll be fine – "

"James, if you don't step away from Jett, I'm going to join the fight as well. Do you really want that?"

James got up off Jett, and Logan, Carlos, and Kyle also stood up. James came towards me and I grabbed him and kissed him as hard as I could for the third time that day. His arms wound around my waist, pulling me closer to him, and my arms slid around his neck as I wedged my body against his.

I broke away from him, and he cupped my face in his hands. "Katie, what I said at the pool the night we went to the club – I meant it. I love you. I'm in love with you, and I have been for ages."

For a split second, I felt as if I was going to either faint or cry with joy. My heart stopped, and then proceeded to pound even harder, and I could feel my breath coming out in a huge gasps.

"I'm in love with you too," I told him. "Please…just let Jett go. I don't want you to get hurt…anymore than you already are, I mean."

There was a bruise already blossoming on his cheek, and there were several cuts along his temple. His hair was messy and there was dirt and pebbles adorning it.

James kept his arms around me as he turned back to look at Logan, Carlos, and Kyle. "Just let him go. Katie's right, he isn't worth it."

"Well dickhead," Logan said to Jett as he hauled him to his feet, "you lucked out. It looks like love saved you this time."

"But if you ever come near Katie, ever again, we'll all come after you with baseball bats and hockey sticks," Kyle added.

"And we all have strong swings," Carlos put in.

"_And_ there's five of us, including Kendall, and only one of you," James finished, and then all four boys said simultaneously, "So stay away from Katie!"

Jett glared at him. "Fine! But only because I don't want to be scarred for life!" and he huffed off, limping a bit, towards his car.

Stephanie wrapped an arm around Carlos and kissed him on the lips. "Come on babe, let's go back up to the reception. You all in?"

Logan hugged Camille. "I think so."

"Besides," James added with a sly grin in my direction, an arm still around my waist, "Katie still owes me a dance."

"Make it count you two," Kyle said, smiling. I couldn't tell if his heart was breaking, or if he was in pain over seeing me kiss James, but he looked genuinely happy for me.

Gabi threw me a knowing look. "Hey Kyle, you want to hang out here for a little while? I'm not ready to go back in yet."

Kyle smiled at her. "Sure, I'd love to."

We all trooped back in, and as we stepped through the doorway, I heard Kyle ask Gabi, "So has anyone ever called you _Gabs_?"

I laughed, and knew that in the end, Kyle would be okay. I would just have to make it up to him big time…maybe I'd buy him a year supply of sushi…

James gripped my hand firmly as we walked onto the dance floor. Lifehouse's song _Crash and Burn_ had just begun to play, and I couldn't help but think how much it could fit the last three weeks. Wow…had it really only been three weeks? So much had happened, it was insane.

"So, would you really have jumped in on the fight?" James asked me as he put his arms around me again.

"Maybe," I replied, smiling. "But thankfully we're not going to have find out." I ran my finger over the bruise on his cheek and I felt him shudder slightly,

"Well, your bluff hit home base, so I guess it worked."

"That's what I was counting on," I told him. "I couldn't let you – well any of you really – get even more hurt because Jett was being an overemotional bastard."

"There were four of us and only one of him," James reminded me as we swayed to the beat. "The odds were in our favor."

I shrugged. "He still could have run and told the police that you guys jumped him. I didn't want that to happen, I had to do something. And thankfully, Gabi read my mind. But thank you," I added. "Thank you for standing up for me."

"Anything for you Batie-Bear."

"You've said that before."

"And I always mean it."

"So you really love me?" I couldn't resist asking.

"Yeah, I really do. I don't know how, or why, but…Katie, I can't imagine life without you. I do stupid things, and I've hurt you, but I'm hoping that even after everything I've said and done, you'll want to be with me."

"Why did you say my name when you were with Courtney?"

James blushed. "Can't you guess?"

"Say it."

"Because thinking of you was the only way I was going to be able to…finish…"

It was my turn to blush.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I was trying to have sex with her in the first place?"

"It hadn't really crossed my mind…"

"It has to do with you."

"Okay, I'll bite. James, why were you trying to have sex with Courtney Hills in the first place?"

"Because I had just figured out how I felt about you. I had just finished talking to Kyle, and he had made it sound like he liked you, and I realized that I didn't have a chance with you. I was in the apartment and Courtney showed up and…I did the stupidest thing I could have done, and I was still thinking about you. I couldn't get my thoughts away from you."

"Wow…"

I could see Kendall and Jo still dancing, laughing and talking as they moved to the beat. Mom was chatting with a really good looking male producer from _New Town High_, Logan and Camille, and Carlos and Stephanie were dancing. Kyle and Gabi were probably still down in the parking lot, talking.

I looked back at James, who was watching me. "Why did you want to continue with the fake-dating scheme?"

"Because I thought that maybe I could get you to see me as more than a friend."

I smiled. "You didn't need fake-dating for that."

"I was going to kiss you in the air dart – and then we fell through the ceiling."

"Well, we've always had perfect timing," I quipped.

"Yes, we have," and then he bent in to kiss me.

It was around eleven-o-clock when Kendall and Jo finally left so that they could catch their 11:45 flight to

the Caribbean island. We all ran outside to watch as they went. James held me from behind as we all gazed at them, waiting for the explosion once they saw the car.

Kendall spun around to face us. "KATIE! JAMES! LOGAN! CARLOS! CAMILLE! STEPHANIE!"

"Don't you just love all the colors?" I chirped.

"I – I – I – what? And…why are you and James standing like that?"

James kissed the top of my head. "We're dating now Kendall. Aren't you happy for us?"

Despite all of Kendall's previous assurances of being just fine (well, sort of just fine) with James and me going out, he began stuttering and sputtering and shaking his fist at James until Jo called, "Just give him some time James, Katie. He'll be just fine when we get back next week!" She tugged him into the car, but before he could duck into his seat, he yelled, "YOU TWO ARE GOING TO DRIVE ME CRAZY! AND IF I COME BACK AND FIND YOU TWO IN BED TOGETHER – "

"STEP ON IT!" Jo screamed at the hired driver – who had been inside at the reception and had come outside with us – and with the squealing of tires, the car sped off with everyone cheering.

Mom smiled at James and me. "Remember our agreement, Katie?"

I laughed and grinned back at her. "Yes Mom, I remember."

"I'm holding you to it."

"I know you are."

Once the car was out of sight, everyone headed back into the reception, some smiling at James and me, others making comments about the wrath of Kendall. Logan and Camille grinned at us as they went by, and Carlos and Stephanie high-fived us each. Kyle and Gabi passed by us, each giving us the thumbs-up sign.

"So what agreement did you and your mom have?" James asked once everyone was back inside the building.

I grinned. "I'll tell you about it in a few months, but until then…how about we go see a late showing of _Kiss and Tell 3_?"

James paused, before smiling widely. "That sounds perfect. Gustavo's car?"

"Who else's car are we going to take?"

"I'll go steal the keys."

"I'll distract him."

As we walked back into the record building, James held the door open for me. As I passed by him, he said with a grin, "I have a feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship."

I smiled back as he let the door close behind him. "You know something? I think you're right."

* * *

><p><strong><em>So...how was the chapter? Was it okay? Was it fantastic? Was it terrible?<em>**

**_So all that's left now is the epilogue! Wow! I can't believe how fast this story has gone by! I've had so much fun writing it! I swear, this story is one of the only things that has kept me sane in the past couple of months! And of course, you guys helped keep out of the insane asylum as well._**

**_Okay, now I think I might cry *sniff, sniff*...Okay, putting all tearful goodbyes which shouldn't even be made until the next and final chapter..._**

**_The flower girl and the ring bearer were based on the flower girl and the ring bearer at my cousin's wedding, although they definitely didn't argue the way the brother and sister did in the chapter._**

**_The review button just can't seem to stay away from the all the junk food, and it hates getting exercise. But if you click on the review button, it'll exercise it, and the review button would be very grateful. Oh, and I would be pretty happy too, because I love hearing what you all think of the chapter and the story! But the review button could really use a good workout ;)_**


	16. Chapter 16 Epilogue: 8 Months Later

_**Wow! The last chapter/epilogue is finally up! *Applause echoes throughout my room***_

_**Disclaimer: If I ruled the world, I would own Big Time Rush. Unfortunately, I don't rule the world, and I don't own Big Time Rush. And yes, I'm very sad about both.**_

_**Warnings: Language, sexual references, non-graphic mild sexual content, excessive fluff**_

_**Jilliy: Thank you for your review! And thank you! Oh, I'm definitely going to write more stories! Hmmm...well, I might just publish a book some day. And thank you again! You're so sweet! :)**_

_**BriannieBee64: Thank you for reviewing! Thank you! And yeah, I think you're right, stuff like that happens a lot at weddings, but hey, it just adds to the entertainment. Heehee, I love that Jett got beat up too ;)**_

_**Jatie 4 ever: Thank you for taking the time to review! Thank you so much! Wow, that means so much! I'm speechless! Thank you! It wasn't cheesy, it was sweet, so once again, thank you. Oh, and all cool people are mad or crazy ;)**_

_**gtrht: Thank you for reviewing! Well, I might write a sequel...:)**_

_**Btr fanatic: Thank you for your review! Haha, yes! Jatie FTW! :)**_

_**Once again, a huge thank you to xxxBookwormLonerxxx for her OC, Gabi! And if there's anyone who's review I didn't reply to, I'm so sorry, I read it, I just missed it amongst a bunch of e-mails when I was replying to reviews.**_

_**THANK YOU to everyone who has favorited, alerted, and reviewed this story! I LOVE YOU ALL! :)**_

_**So, the epilogue is a little different from the rest of the story, in that it's pretty fluffy, and the situations aren't quite as crazy, but hopefully you guys will still like it :)**_

_**Enjoy the epilogue!**_

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue – 8 Months Later<strong>

**Katie's POV**

"So what're yours and James's plans for tonight? It's your very first Valentine's Day as a couple – you guys must have something really good planned, right?" Scarlett asked me as she filed her nails.

I looked up at her from painting my toenails a bright purple, and shrugged. "I think we're just going to go see a movie or something."

"Which movie?" Gabi asked as she held up earrings to her ears, staring at herself in my bedroom mirror.

"That new action movie, _The Dalton Files_," I answered.

Kyle glanced up from where he was paging through the latest copy of _Rolling Stone_. "I'm going to see that movie with Ben," he spoke up. "It looks pretty awesome – lots of action."

Scarlett rolled her eyes as she admired her perfectly rounded nails. "What is it with you two and going to go see action movies on _romantic_ dates?"

"I think the male lead falls in love at some point in the movie," I replied off-handedly.

"There you go, Scarlett, there's your romance for you," Kyle told her.

Scarlett rolled her eyes again. "You know, even when you were pretending to be straight, you were still a lot more romantic than you are now."

"I'm plenty romantic!" Kyle insisted, sounding insulted. "Besides, Ben and I just started going out. We're not going to be going to see any of your sweet and sugary romantic comedies anytime soon, Scar."

"You took me to see _Kiss and Tell 3_ on our first date!" Scarlett cried.

Gabi and I exchanged exasperated glances. Scarlett had eventually forgiven Kyle for dating her, dumping her, and coming out of the closet, but she still had a tendency to use his previous exploits against him if they were arguing.

Kyle shrugged. "My intentions were different – don't hit me!"

Scarlett scowled. "You know, I keep trying to figure out what I ever saw in you."

Kyle flipped his shaggy bangs out of his eyes. "My stunningly good looks and darling charm?"

"Noooo…that wasn't it."

Gabi and I cackled together.

"Oooh, burn!" I hooted.

"I'm so glad Mom got a job out here – life back in Minnesota would be so much more boring!" Gabi said, still grinning.

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK…

"Come in!" I called, and my bedroom door opened. James walked in, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Hey babe, I just thought I'd let you know that Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and I are heading down to the hockey rink for a couple of hours."

I gingerly stood up, trying not to disturb my newly pedicure-d toes, and walked over to him, peering into his face.

"What are you doing?" he asked in confusion.

"I'm trying to burn the sight of your non-mangled face in my mind."

"Oh, ha, ha, very funny." James rolled his eyes but bent down to kiss me anyway.

"Just make sure you're on Kendall's team," I told him once he had pulled back. "Otherwise you really will come back here with a messed-up face."

"You have such faith in me."

"No, really, I do! I just also have faith in Kendall's ability to wrack the hockey puck at the speed of eighty miles per hour."

"Hey James," Scarlett called over to him. "What is it with you and Katie and Kyle and Ben going to go see an _action_ movie on a _date_? Really romantic."

James shrugged. "Katie and I both want to see the movie. What's yours and Ben's excuse, Kyle?"

"I don't want to take him to see a hot romance movie yet, we're still too new a couple," Kyle explained.

James turned back to Scarlett. "Well, there you go."

"Are you guys leaving right now?" I asked.

"Yeah, as soon as Logan and Carlos finish fighting over whose hockey gear is whose." He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him.

"Ummm…Gabi, Kyle, let's go see what kind of ice cream they have, doesn't that sound fantastic? Katie, James, we'll be out in the kitchen. Gabi, Kyle, MOVE IT!" Scarlett ordered like a drill sergeant.

My three oh-so subtle friends scrambled off of my bed and out of my room, Gabi closing the door behind her.

I laughed as I turned back to James, and he grinned. "I think they need to work on their graceful exits."

"I'll be sure to pass along the message," I replied as he grip tightened on my waist. He gently pushed me backwards until we hit my bed and went tumbling down. He held himself over me, gently pressing kisses against my neck as my fingers tangled in his hair. I heard myself moan at the feeling of his lips against my skin. His fingers were trailing up my stomach, slowly, slowly…

"JAMES! TIME TO GO!" Kendall shouted through the door, banging on it so loud I was shocked that the door hadn't fallen down.

"Shit," James muttered, and crawled off of me. "He always did have fantastic timing."

I couldn't help but laugh as I sat up. "Well, you'll just have to make sure you take all of that sexual frustration out on the hockey puck."

"I'd rather take it out on you," he whispered, his lips just barely brushing against the shell of my ear, and I shivered.

"JAMES! DO NOT MAKE ME WALK IN ON YOU AND KATIE!" Kendall hollered.

James groaned. "GIMME A SECOND!" he shouted back, before kissing me again. "I'll see you in a couple of hours. I love you."

"Mmm…love you too," I said. "And remember – the movie starts at 7:15."

"We should be back here ages before then," James assured me. "Hey, want to go out to dinner beforehand? We could try out that new Italian restaurant."

"Sounds good," I agreed and pecked him on the lips again. I leaned back on my elbows and lazily watched as James stood up and walked over to the door, opening it and smiling at me before stepping out into the living room. Gabi, Scarlett, and Kyle darted back in, the girls each holding a tub of ice cream, Kyle hanging onto a bag of Salt and Vinegar potato chips.

"So…" Scarlett began the second the front door slammed behind the guys, "did things get _heated_ between you and James?" she waggled her eyebrows for effect.

"You do know you look really deranged when you do that, don't you?" I informed her as I grabbed a handful of chips out of the bag.

"Just answer the freaking question."

"A tiny bit…But Kendall ruined it. He's not even living here and he's still walking in on James and me!"

"And this time the positions are definitely questionable," Gabi crowed.

"Whatever, I'm eighteen, it's not illegal if I want to have sex with him."

"But are you having sex with him?"

That was Kyle's cue to clap his hands over his ears and begin going, "La-la-la, I CAN'T HEAR YOU! LA-LA-LA-LA-LA…!" at the top of his lungs.

And he's the mature one.

I took Kyle's hands away from his ears. "No, I'm not."

Kyle relaxed. "Oh thank goodness. There was no way I was going to sit through a recounting of yours and James's sexual exploits."

I ignored him while Scarlett rolled her eyes. "We would have kicked you out if she had said yes."

"Whatever," Gabi said. "I didn't need a blow-by-blow account anyway."

"Good. Cuz I wouldn't give you one anyway."

"Can we please get off the topic of Katie having sex with James?" Kyle requested. "It's gross."

Gabi stuck her tongue out at him, laughing. "You're such a baby."

"I prefer to consider myself naively innocent."

Scarlett turned back to me. "So are you and James ever going to get it on?"

If they had wanted to, they could have cracked an egg on my face and it would have been fried within seconds. "Uhhh…"

"Haven't talked about it?" Scarlett said, nodding her head knowingly. "Neither of you has brought it up?"

"Uhhh…"

"It's probably for the best that they haven't talked about it yet, much less actually done it," Kyle informed Scarlett. "I mean, considering James's past with girls – "

"He's been checked for STDs!" I cried. "I know that much!"

"That's not what I meant," Kyle told me. "I just meant…I mean…Wouldn't you like to keep your relationship innocent for as long as possible?"

"Have you seen James's abs? It is possible to want to keep a relationship innocent with a guy with a body like that?" Scarlett demanded. "Anyway, would _you_ want to keep _your_ relationship with Ben as innocent for as long as possible?"

"That's different!" Kyle insisted.

Gabi cocked an eyebrow at him. "How?"

"Ben isn't James!"

"Yeah, but you were once a mini-replica of James."

Kyle scowled at Gabi. "_Mini-replica_?"

"You know what I mean! You weren't much better than James!"

"I didn't go around sleeping with a different girl every week!"

Were they seriously arguing over whether James and I should have sex?

"Kyle! Gabi! Scarlett! It's James's and my business if we decide to sleep together! Please, please, _please_ drop the subject!"

"My point, for all of you girls, is that I just don't want Katie to get hurt," Kyle said, completely ignoring me.

"And my point is that people can change," Gabi retorted. "And James has."

Scarlett nodded earnestly. "He's in love with her."

"I'm not denying any of it. I'm just saying…they should take things slow."

"Dude, it's been eight months. And they're both adults. I wouldn't worry so much, if I were you," Gabi replied.

"Okay, I won't talk. Just ignore me and keep on talking about my personal business as if I'm not here," I said loudly as I reached for an old edition of Pop Tiger, the one where an interview asked James and me about our new relationship and how we felt about Kendall and Jo's marriage.

"Thanks for the permission, we will," Gabi cracked, and I flipped her off before burying my nose in the magazine.

* * *

><p><strong>James's POV<strong>

"SCORE!" Kendall roared as he shot the puck into the net that Carlos was supposed to be guarding. "WE WIN, YOU LOSE!" he shouted at Carlos and Logan.

"YES!" I hollered, punching the air in triumph and skating towards my teammate as I lifted the goalie mask off of my face and tossed it in the general direction of our unused hockey gear. I disliked playing goalie, because if something went wrong with the mask, The Face would be damaged. But someone had to do it, and Kendall had an admittedly stronger swing than I did. I just double-checked the goalie mask to make sure that everything was working perfectly.

I grinned as Logan and Carlos glared at me, and I high-fived Kendall. We had just beat Logan and Carlos at our fifth game that day, and they were not happy, but before they could take out their anger on us with their hockey sticks, Kendall was pointing at the clock. "I've gotta go, Jo and I have dinner reservations at six at that fancy French restaurant that she likes."

"Katie and I are going to a movie and we're going to grab dinner beforehand, so I need to leave too."

"I'm watching movies at Stephanie's apartment tonight," Carlos reported.

"And tonight's the night," Logan added. "I'm going to ask Camille to marry me tonight."

"Well, it's about fucking time!" Kendall cried.

"You and Camille are great together," I put in.

"She'll definitely say yes," Carlos finished.

Logan beamed, albeit a bit nervously. "I hope so."

In the eight months since Kendall and Jo's wedding, Kendall and Jo had moved into a house a few blocks away from the Palmwoods. Mrs. Knight was living with the producer who she had met at the wedding reception – they had begun dating almost immediately, and then a month ago, she moved into his Beverly Hills mansion. Logan and Camille were still dating, and just last week, Logan had gone out and bought a diamond engagement ring. Carlos had begun a relationship with Stephanie, and they were very close. And Katie and me…well…as gushy and gooey as this is going to sound, we were very much in love. I loved her more than I had ever loved anyone, except maybe my mother and my best friends.

We headed for the locker rooms, stripped down, and slid into the showers. I closed my eyes as I felt the water wash away the sweat and fake ice from my body, relaxing my tense muscles.

So…everyone was going to be out of the apartment that night – I had no doubt that Logan and Carlos would end up spending the night at their respective girlfriends' apartments. Hmmm…maybe…maybe…

Okay, I wasn't going to lie. I was wondering how Katie would feel if we…oh, I don't know…ended up in my bed…The thought was more than appealing to me, but she was still a virgin, and I wasn't sure if she was ready to take the next step in our relationship. Eight months may sound like a long time, but it might not be long enough for her, for _this_. But how do I go about asking her? That wasn't just something I could ask her over dinner: "So Katie, how's your pasta? By the way, do you want to sleep with me tonight?" She'd probably end up throwing her food in my face.

Or…maybe I could just sit back and see what happens. That would probably be my best – and safest – bet.

"Hey James! If you don't get out of the shower, your pores are going to start leaking water!" Kendall yelled at me.

I winced. Oops. I'd half-forgotten that Kendall was in the room with me, and there I'd been, wondering if his little sister would consider sleeping with me.

Not that I would push Katie into anything she didn't want to do, and I wouldn't break up with her if she said no. But I am a guy. I can't always control my thoughts, or my body for that matter, no matter how finely tuned it is.

I groaned softly and stepped out from under the hard stream and reached for a towel. "So how's Jo and the baby doing?" I asked. The baby was due to be born within the next three weeks, and we were all getting antsy.

Kendall rubbed his hair dry with a towel. "Jo's doing good – a little sore pretty much everywhere – but good. And the doctor said the baby's strong and healthy, so…"

"That's good," Carlos said as he pulled his t-shirt over his head. "I mean, not about Jo, but about the baby."

"It's perfectly normal for a pregnant woman to be sore," Logan informed us in his favorite technical voice. "Is she irritable, Kendall?"

"Very," Kendall commented dryly.

"Hey, I heard that Jett's finally been admitted to a treatment center for, you know, being a sex addict and all of that," Carlos piped up as he pulled his helmet down over his head.

"About freaking time," I said as I pulled my jeans on. "It's been months since everyone found out about him and his _issues_."

Jett Stetson had been able to keep his spot on _New Town High_, and very little had been heard about him since the wedding reception. He had moved out of the Palmwoods, and rumor had it that he was living with Courtney Hill, who was currently a Victoria's Secret model. Not much was heard about her either, and we all figured that the evil duo were probably just laying low for the time being, no doubt planning their revenge. But if Jett had been admitted into a treatment facility, than that revenge wasn't going to be happening anytime soon. Besides, we had powerful people *cough Kyle's mom cough* on our side who could shut down Jett's and Courtney's career if they laid a finger on us. Ahhhh, the beauty of living in Hollywood.

I finished dressing, and turned my attention to my hair, running my lucky comb meticulously through my locks, making sure that every hair was in place. There. I looked damn good, and hopefully Katie would agree.

"Yes James, you're very pretty. Should we get you a nice pink ribbon to tie in your hair?" Kendall asked as he pulled me away from the locker room mirror.

"Ha ha, very funny," I deadpanned as I pulled my hoodie on over my t-shirt. "Come on, let's go."

The mid February California air was in the fifties, with a slight breeze, but the sun was shining brightly, casting shadows onto the sidewalk as we walked along. It felt like the perfect weather for Valentine's Day, as if the sun and the sky were in love, if that makes any sense at all.

Logan pulled out the keys to the BTR mobile and we piled in, with Carlos and me in the backseat and Kendall riding shotgun. Logan started the car up, switched on the radio, and All Night Dynamite's song _All I'm Thinking Of_ blasted out of the speakers.

"Ooh, I love this song!" Carlos cried, dancing in his seat in time to the beat.

"It is pretty catchy," I agreed, grinning. "I don't know though…I'm still partial to _Crash and Burn_."

Kendall turned around in his seat to glare at me. "Of course you do. You kissed Katie to that song."

I shrugged innocently. "It's a good song."

My phone vibrated and I pulled it out of my jeans pocket. I had a text message from Katie. As always, my heart seemed to pound harder and faster, as I opened the text: **Kyle, Scar, and Gabi have all gone crazy & they're driving me nuts! Are you guys done hitting each other in the head with hockey sticks? ;P**

I laughed quietly to myself as I texted back: **Yeah, we're in the car now. How have they gone crazy?**

I hit _send_ and waited a couple of minutes before my phone lit up with her text: **Please tell me your bodies are all in 1 piece! & I'll tell you later, it's kind of…I don't think Kendall would like it if he saw it on our phones. :)**

Okay, now I was really, really curious, but a little scared too. Kendall would be upset if he saw the subject of whatever it was Kyle, Scarlett, and Gabi were doing on our phones? What was up with that? But something told me to just step back and wait. She'd tell me eventually, she always did.

**OK, but now you have me really curious. & yes, we're still recognizable ;)**

**Hmmm...I don't know if I believe that. I know how rough and tumble your hockey games can get. Damn, Gabi just threw a pillow at me and told me to get off my phone. I'll see you in a little while. Love you 3**

I smiled and blushed after reading her message, and texted back: **See you soon. Love you too 3**

Yep, I'm totally whipped by Katie, and not ashamed to admit it.

"Katie?" Carlos asked, nodding at my phone.

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Whenever you text each other, you get this ridiculous smile on your face and your face turns redder than salsa."

"Ummm…" Well, that was a little embarrassing…

Logan dropped Kendall off at his house – Jo had dropped Kendall off at our apartment on her way to

work so that he could get ready for the game with the rest of us –and I immediately leapt out of the car, sliding into the front passenger's seat.

Logan glanced at me before waving to Kendall and pulling out onto the main street. "I wanted to talk to you about something," he said as he maneuvered the car around a corner.

"What about?" I asked, leaning back in my seat and propping my converse-clad feet up on the dashboard.

"Katie."

"What about her?"

"It's Valentine's Day."

I shot him a smirk. "And this is why you're the genius, Logan. I never would have figured out the correlation between February 14th and Valentine's Day."

"Shut up. You didn't let me finish."

"My bad. Go right on ahead, Logie-Bunny," I said mockingly, using Camille's pet name for Logan. Logan immediately blushed and glared at me.

"As I was saying, James, its Valentine's Day – and I was wondering what you and Katie were planning to do?"

I shrugged, watching as the buildings flashed by us. "We're just going out to dinner and a movie."

"What about after the movie?"

"We'll probably head back to the apartment."

"And once you're there?"

Okay, this was starting to sound weird.

With my feet still on the dashboard, I twisted my upper body around to gape at Logan. "Why do you want to know?"

"Are you planning on having sex with Katie?"

I blinked slowly at him, a little unsure how to answer that. It wasn't planned, but I can't deny that I had been fantasizing about it. And I was a little shocked at how blunt Logan had just been – it was so unlike him – and it threw me off my game.

"Is that any of your business?"

Logan sighed. "Katie's like a little sister to Carlos and me, and she _is_ Kendall's little sister. I understand you no longer see her that way, but the rest of us do. And if you are planning to go all the way with her tonight – "

"Wait – who says we haven't had sex yet?" I asked. Obviously we hadn't, but the others didn't know that. At least, I didn't think they did.

"Someone's always around," Logan said, shrugging his shoulders. "You two have never had the chance. But, you will tonight. No one will be in the apartment."

"Look man, I haven't even brought the idea up to Katie."

"Well, you better make sure she wants to do it before you jump in head first. _Don't_ pressure her into something she isn't ready for."

"Do you really think I would do that to Katie?" I demanded angrily, crossing my arms over my chest and slamming my feet down to the floor of the car. "Damn it, Logan, I'm in love with her! I would never do anything like that to her!"

Logan nodded, his lips turning up slightly with the hint of a smile. "Good, because we would beat you to a bloody pulp with hockey sticks if you did."

"And you would have every right."

We pulled into the Palmwoods parking lot and slid out of the car, slamming the doors behind us.

Carlos grabbed my arm as we made our way towards the lobby. "Just…be gentle with her, okay? Because Katie isn't just a mindless slut who only likes you because you're famous. She's…she's Katie. She's our Katie-Kat."

His brown eyes were wide and genuine. Katie was closer to Carlos than to Logan, and Carlos treated her like his little sister/teddy bear. If I did anything to hurt Katie, Carlos would be almost as hurt. Logan might be the most diplomatic and sensitive out of all of us, but Carlos was the most emotional, and easily the most vulnerable.

I nodded, face serious. "I know Carlos. Believe me, I know. And I promise."

Carlos paused, and then his face erupted into a wide smile. "Okay, good. Well, come on! I have to be over at Stephanie's in an hour!"

And without further ado, he dragged me into the hotel.

A couple of minutes later we crashed into 2J to find the shower running, with Katie, Kyle, Gabi, and Scarlett sitting on the couch, watching an _Angel_ marathon on TV. It was the episode where Wolfram and Hart sends Cordelia a whole bunch of violent visions, and this was, naturally, sparking lots of shouting from Katie and Gabi, both of whom learned at a young age how to scream bloody murder at the TV from Kendall, Carlos, Logan, and me. We damaged them for life.

Kyle was texting someone and smiling, looking slightly unfocused, which told me he was chatting with Ben. He and Ben had met at the support group for gay teens that Kyle had joined a couple of weeks after he had been out-ed by Jett Stetson. They had quickly hit it off, but had chosen to go slow, since neither of them had been out of the closet for very long. Plus, the paparazzi spent most of their time for the first three months after the wedding switching between stalking Kyle and stalking Katie and me. If Kyle hung out with us, then it was freaking paparazzi-stalk-fest.

Ben was a musician, the lead guitarist in an up and coming rock band, but because of his struggle with his sexuality, he had fought depression and had resorted to cutting. Eventually, though, he seeked out help and came out of the closet, and joined the support group.

Scarlett also had her phone out, her fingers flying over the keypad. She had gotten a semi-permanent part on _New Town High_, and was dating one of her costars, Cody Watson. I had met him a few times when Scarlett, Cody, Katie, and I double-dated. Cody seemed to be a pretty good guy, although fairly low key, which meant that he balanced Scarlett 'The Drama Queen' Stetson out nicely.

And then there was Gabi…Curtis Margolis, Kyle's older brother, had been visiting Kyle and his parents a lot more since Gabi had arrived at the Palmwoods. After ages of flirtatious exchanges, they had finally started dating, much to the relief of everyone involved, since Gabi's and Curtis's idea of flirting usually meant teasing each other mercilessly, while they threw random objects at each other. We had all gotten pretty good at dodging flying pillows and DVD cases by this point.

Katie looked up when the apartment door closed, and her face immediately broke out into a huge smile, her eyes shining happily. "YOU REALLY ARE ALIVE!" she shrieked, and she leapt to her feet, and threw herself at me. I caught her and she clung to me, legs around my waist, kissing me passionately. Oh God. As always, kissing Katie and thinking at the same time was impossible.

"This is so gross!" Carlos shrieked.

"I feel like a total perverted voyeur," Scarlett grumbled.

"You know, watching my best friend make out with her boyfriend like there's no tomorrow wasn't on my to-do list," Kyle commented.

"YO! KATIE! JAMES! GET A ROOM!" Gabi hollered at us.

Katie pulled back and grinned slyly at Gabi. "That's actually not a bad idea, Gabs."

I had to agree with Katie. That was definitely one of Gabi's better ideas.

Scarlett fanned her face with her hand. "All this sexual tension between you two…Whoo! I've gotta go and cool down."

Katie blushed slightly, but she didn't move her legs from my waist. "You do that Scarlett. Have lots of fun."

"I will," and Scarlett left the apartment, closing the door behind her.

Gabi got to her feet, closely followed by Kyle. "Yeah, this is starting to get a little too personal. I'm going to head out. Have fun tonight, okay K?"

Katie finally unwrapped her legs from my waist and I set her on the ground so that she could hug Gabi.

"I will," Katie assured Gabi. "You have fun too G."

Gabi smiled. "I will. I'm hanging out with Curtis tonight."

"Yeah, he came down here, not to see Mom, Dad, and me, but to see Gabi," Kyle grumbled. "It's sickening. Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go get ready for my date with Ben. Later all."

He and Gabi walked out of the apartment, leaving me with Katie and Carlos.

"Well, time to go and get ready for movie night with Stephanie," Carlos said happily, bounding into his and my bedroom.

Katie glanced at the time on her phone. "It's 4:20. We should start getting ready too."

"Yeah, we should," I agreed, but took her hand before she could move off towards her bedroom. "Hey, were you serious when you said that we should get a room? I mean, I know you were giving Gabi a hard time, but…"

Katie frowned. "I was serious that we should take the make out session into my bedroom. Why…? Ohhhh…Yeah, maybe I meant that too. You're just going to have to wait until tonight to find out." And she winked saucily at me before sauntering into her bedroom and closing the door behind her.

Gah…Okay James, breathe…breathe…in…and out…there you go…

I managed to stumble into the bedroom I shared with Carlos. Carlos had changed into a slightly nicer pair of jeans and a sweater with the sleeves pushed up to his forearms. "So, how do I look?" he asked, biting his lip nervously. It's actually kind of cute how in love with Stephanie he is, but it turns him into a nervous wreck. I mean, he already was, but now he's even worse.

"You look fine, Carlos," I assured him.

"Oh good. In that case, I'm gonna go. See you tomorrow, James."

"See you tomorrow, Carlitos. Have fun tonight."

"You too…gentle fun, I mean…Yeah…See you tomorrow…" and he left the room, taking all of the awkwardness with him.

I lay down on my bed, and closed my eyes, thinking about what Katie had said. Was tonight…_the night_? Oh God, I hope so. I was really wishing that tonight would be the first night that after one our dates, I wouldn't have to go lock myself in the bathroom or in my bedroom, if Carlos was out with Stephanie, and jack off to the thought of Katie. And I knew that if we really did finally sleep together tonight, it would be amazing, better than anything else, for the very simple reason that it was Katie and I loved her and she could get me to do things that I would never do if anyone else was asking, and she could induce bodily and hormonal reactions from me that I thought I had somewhat under control…which obviously I didn't.

Hmmm…I wonder how much Kendall would kill me if I have sex with his little sister…Well, if I did have sex with Katie, hopefully Kendall wouldn't walk in on us in the middle of the act…Although with our luck…

Note to self: Make sure to lock the bedroom door.

But then the thoughts began to rush forward. What if I suffered condom collapse? I had heard about that happening to other guys, and quite honestly, it sounded pretty humiliating. What if I wasn't gentle enough? What if…? Oh, great. Now I was panicking. I couldn't panic. Not now. I had to remain calm and cool and collected. The three Cs. I had to. Besides, Katie might not even be ready, she might want to wait.

And with that half disappointing, half reassuring thought, I got to my feet and began to pull out my clothes for that evening.

* * *

><p><strong>Katie's POV<strong>

Oh, wow. Had I really just said that to James? Really? _Really_? But I had kind of meant it. Well, okay, there was no _kind of_ about it. I had definitely meant it.

Okay, so sex with James Diamond. It was something that I had sort of thought about ever since I was fourteen or so, but now the wish was becoming an actual possibility. But was I ready to go through with it? I could hear James rummaging around in his bedroom, and I smiled to myself. Hell yeah, I was ready.

As I changed clothes, I flashed back to when I had finally told James about the promise I had made to Mom.

…"_So let me get this straight," James had said, laughing slightly when I had finished explaining it to him. We were sitting on my bed, because Carlos and Stephanie were in James's and Carlos' room, and the rest of the guys were in the living room, watching the Sports Channel. "Your mom gave you permission to have sex with me as long as you were eighteen and you were ready? Wow…She's even cooler than I originally thought."_

_I had choked out an embarrassed laugh. "Yep, that's pretty much what she said. Crazy, huh?"_

_James had shrugged and reached out to twirl a strand of my hair between his fingers. "Seems like pretty good ground rules to me. You're still a minor, and chances are, you're probably not ready to have sex with me anyway. We'll take it slow, I promise," he had added sweetly before leaning in to kiss me gently._

That had been seven months ago. But now…now I was legal and I was ready.

At 5:30, James knocked on my door. "Batie-Bear? Are you ready?"

"Just a sec," I called back, and turned every which way, trying to see myself from every angle in the mirror. I was in a short black cotton flared skirt that Scarlett had forced me to buy, because it "showed off my long, slender legs", a purple off-the-shoulder long-sleeved shirt with a cinched waist, and even silver gladiator sandals.

My hair was straight, and hung down my back and over my shoulders, I wore small silver hoops in my ears, a simple silver chain around my neck, and my makeup was subtle.

I grabbed my purse and James's Valentine's Day present, opened my bedroom door, and came face to face with James. He looked amazing in jeans and a black and white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms.

His eyes traveled from my face, down my neck, to my chest, to my stomach, down to my legs, and then back up to my face, before he smiled widely and pulled me in to kiss me. "You look beautiful, Katie Knight," he whispered in my ear, and I shivered.

"Thanks. You clean up nicely yourself," I whispered back, running my fingers over the light stubble on his cheeks and jaw. So sexy.

For about five seconds, I seriously considered just saying _fuck dinner and the movie_, but James stepped back and clasped my hand in his. "Come on, let's get going, I'm starving."

We headed down to the car and slid in. James turned the key and the engine rolled over smoothly. James backed out of the parking space and then pulled out onto the main road, before turning on the radio.

"So are we going to that Italian restaurant?" I asked over a Forever the Sickest Kids song.

"That's the plan. Unless you would rather go somewhere else," he added quickly, his fingers tapping nervously against the gear selector.

"No, Italian sounds perfect," I assured him, wondering what the hell he had to be nervous about. Could it have been my innuendo earlier? He wasn't opposed to the thought of having sex with me, was he? I mean, he was a guy, so chances of that were somewhere between two and negative five-hundred-thousand percent. So if he wasn't grossed out by the idea, then…Was he nervous? Was the great James Diamond, the guy who had banged about eighty different girls, nervous about having sex with his best friend's little sister? Who'd have thunk it?

"So what's everyone else doing tonight?" I asked, as it suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea if we would have the apartment to ourselves. "Carlos said something about a movie night with Stephanie?"

"Yep. And tonight Logan's going to propose to Camille, so he'll probably be over at her place until next month – she won't let him out."

I laughed. "Somehow, I don't think he'd mind that too much."

The Forever the Sickest Kids song switched to My Girl Friday's song "I Like", and James grinned. "I love this song," he told me. "It makes me think of you."

"You mean the drinking wine and whiskey on Saturday nights' part?" I asked sarcastically. "Or the telling you that the cigarettes will kill you part?"

"No, I mean like how _you bring out the better man in me_," he said, quoting a line later on in the song, before beginning to sing along to it: "_Cuz I like the way you look in the morning/I like the nights where you're wrapped around me/I like the way you whisper 'what you want to do'/Yeah I like the way you love me too/Whoa oh/Whoa oh/Yeah I like the way you love me too/Whoa oh/Whoa oh_."

I smiled, even while my face was turning bright red. He had a voice that matched his looks, and every time I heard him sing, I felt like I could listen to him forever and never get tired of listening.

We reached the restaurant and headed in. The hostess showed us to a small, private table, and James even pulled my chair out for me. I smiled and thanked him, and got his charming smile in return. Dinner was pretty much uneventful. He filled me in on the hockey game, and I told him about some of the funnier things that Kyle, Gabi, and Scarlett had said (the stuff that wasn't about James and me sleeping together, I mean). Over chocolate mousse we exchanged Valentine's Day presents – he had gotten me a diamond necklace, bracelet, and earring set, and I had bought him a limited edition of a Cuda watch (he had been dying to get it ever since he had heard that Cuda was expanding into man jewelry).

Once we were finished with our food, we headed over to the movie theater – the same movie theater James and Jett had gotten into a fight at eight months ago. We had had to pay a hefty sum for the owner of the movie theater to let us back in, but in the end, they had relented, for which I am very glad – where else are you going to find a small popcorn that's the size of a triple large?

James bought a small popcorn for us to share, and a medium cherry coke – which was closer to an extra-extra-extra-extra-extra-extra-extra-extra-extra large – and stuck two straws in it. It was a sweet, if somewhat gushy, habit of ours ever since the night of the wedding, to share a popcorn and coke. Don't ask me why, it was just something we did.

The movie was pretty good, lots of action, awesome special effects, and fantastic acting. We even had the movie theater almost completely to ourselves, because all the other star-crossed couples were spending their Valentine's Day dates at one of the latest romantic comedies. The only people in there were a couple of scowling guys and a small group of girls who were chowing down on large (extra large times fifty) popcorns. We were the only couple in the theater, and within the first ten minutes, James had placed the popcorn on the seat next to him, and patted his lap, grinning.

I took the hint and climbed into his lap, cuddling into him. He rested his chin on my head, neither of us speaking or moving until the movie was over.

On the way home, we dissected the movie, going over what the movie needed to make it better and what made the movie as good as it was. James was a lot more relaxed then he had been on the way to the restaurant, for which I was kind of relieved, because as much as it amused me to see him nervous, it made me just as nervous as he was; it was like some kind of chain reaction.

When we reached 2J, the apartment was dark and empty. "I guess we have the place to ourselves," James said in satisfaction as he flipped on the living room lights.

I locked the front door and checked all of the rooms anyway, just to ensure that none of the guys had had a bad night and come home early. By the time I had finished combing the apartment, I was completely sure that James and I were the only ones there. Good.

We plopped down on the couch, and within seconds we were kissing, completely zoning out to everything else but each other. That is, until…

"Wait, what didn't you want to tell me over text message?" James asked, pulling away.

"Oh…that…that's not really a big deal…"

"What was it Katie?"

"Oh, Gabi and Kyle and Scarlett were just arguing over whether or not we should have sex or talk about having sex – I'm not completely sure which one it was, my head started spinning."

James paused, and then shrugged. "Okay. I can picture them trying to decide that for us, so..."

"So…?" I prodded him.

"So…I can see why you wouldn't want to put that in a text message, although I kind of doubt Kendall's going to steal our phones just to read our conversations."

"He probably won't, but he might have a moment of insanity, and – "

James cut me off by pressing his lips to mine, and I didn't try to continue on with what I had been saying; instead I just tangled my fingers in his hair as he slid even closer to me, so that we as close as we could be without me sitting in his lap.

He kissed down my throat, across my collarbone to my shoulders, and then retraced his steps back up to my lips while I slid my fingers into the waistband of his jeans. I could feel his toned muscles against my fingers, and a light dusting of hair covering his lower abs.

I pulled back. "Your bedroom?" I suggested, before I could second guess myself.

"Are you – are you sure?" he asked, gulping slightly.

I nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I'm positive."

His face broke out into a wide grin, and he scooped me up, bridal style, and carried me into his room, kicking his door behind him. He laid me on his bed, hovering over me, as he kissed my lips. I licked at the inside of his bottom lip, earning a soft moan from him, and I grinned against his mouth with satisfaction.

My fingers worked furiously at the buttons of his shirt, and he shrugged out of it, revealing his perfect chest and washboard abs. I rolled him over so that I was on top of him, raking my finger nails softly down his chest. I took my lips away from his and trailed my mouth down his throat, down his chest, and down his abs. He groaned in pleasure, and it was becoming very obvious that he was getting turned on.

He tugged at the hem of my shirt and I lifted my arms obediently so that he could pull it off. He licked his lips slowly as he took in the sight of me half naked, before pulling me down for another kiss.

Here we go…

* * *

><p><strong>James's POV<strong>

Katie's head rested on my chest as I stroked her hair, heart still hammering erratically from what had just happened between us. I couldn't believe it had finally happened, but I couldn't have been happier.

Katie's breath was slow and steady, and I knew she was asleep. I was exhausted, and I could feel myself slipping under, but I didn't want to sleep – there was no way my dreams could match the haven that reality had just become. And with that unusually deep thought for me, I nodded off, slipping into unconsciousness.

I awoke a little later to the sound of a phone ringing, but I couldn't think of whose phone it was. I was still too groggy.

Katie mumbled something as she slowly came back to full awareness. I stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head as her eyes slowly opened. She looked so beautiful with her hair messed up and her eyes still sleepy and innocent – eyes that, just a few hours ago, had been staring up at me, pleading and hungry and filled with a heady combination of love and lust.

"Hey," she murmured, eyes focusing on my lips.

I kissed her gently and rested my forehead against hers. "Hey."

We sat like that for a few seconds and then she rested her head against my shoulder.

"How do you feel about…earlier?" I asked, kissing her head again.

"I'm glad it happened," she said, still sounding like she was half-asleep. "I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

"Me neither."

I placed my index and middle fingers under her chin and tipped her face up so that I could kiss her again.

And that's when the phone went off again, except that the ring tone was different – it was mine.

I pulled back, frowning. "I think that's my phone."

"Who the hell is calling you at – " Katie leaned over to look at the digital clock on my nightstand " – 1:47 in the morning?"

"Beats me," I answered as I pushed the covers back and slid out of bed. I saw her smirk slightly as she took in my form, and I smirked back at her as I followed the sound of the ringing to my discarded jeans. I pulled my phone out and checked the caller ID. "It's Kendall," I reported, fumbling for a second before hitting the receive button and putting the phone up to my ear. I sat down on the edge of the bed, wearily, and Katie slithered over on her stomach and elbows, still wrapped in the sheets. She placed a kiss on the back of my shoulder.

"Tell him we're busy," she said suggestively. Something told me she wasn't half-asleep anymore. I liked her idea, although explaining just how exactly I was busy with Katie was going to be a bit of a problem.

"Kendall? You do know what time it – "

"JO'S IN LABOR!" Kendall shouted into his phone.

"I – WHAT?"

Katie had been trailing kisses across my shoulder blades and down my spine, but she quickly pulled back when I yelled and came to sit beside me.

"MY WIFE IS IN LABOR WITH OUR CHILD!"

"Okay, as soon as Katie and I are dressed, we'll be down at the hospital."

There was a pause, and then Kendall asked, in a would-be calm voice, "When you and Katie are dressed?"

"Ummm…"

Oops.

Katie face-palmed.

"Slip of the tongue?" I suggested, knowing exactly what it sounded like. It sounded like we were undressed. Together. And that would have been the right idea.

"JAMES – !"

Katie grabbed the phone from me. "Kendall, James and I will be down to the hospital soon. See you then. Love you. Bye!" and she hit the _call end_ button.

There was a pause, and then she started laughing. "Oh, poor Kendall. I shouldn't be laughing, it's kind of sick, but it's kind of funny too. Kendall's worst nightmare came true."

"Maybe this is what they call poetic justice?" I asked as I dropped my phone to the floor and leaned back on my elbows.

"It fits. And considering that he's always walked in on us at the most awkward of moments…"

"Well, I guess we better get dressed and get down to the hospital so that Kendall can kill us," Katie said, slipped out from the sheets. "I'm going to go grab some clothes from my room," she told me, shivering slightly in the slightly chilly air. I handed her the shirt I had been wearing earlier that evening and she slipped it on, wrapping it around her body before kissing me quickly and crawling off the bed. I couldn't help but admire how beautiful and sexy and sensual she looked, wearing my shirt. It hung off of her small frame, but somehow the sight of her in my button-up shirt was just completely intoxicating.

Even in the darkness, I could see her wince slightly as she began walking. "Overworked muscles?" I called to her, and she turned to scowl at me, although she was fighting back a smile.

"Shut up."

I laughed. "I love you Katie Knight."

"I love you too, James Diamond."

I watched as she walked out of my room, still limping a bit due to overworking muscles that had never been worked before, and had gotten overworked by me, before getting dressed myself.

I double-checked to make sure my wallet was still in my jeans pocket before grabbing my phone, running my lucky comb through my hair a couple of times, popping about five Tic-Tacs, and heading out into the living room. I only had to wait about ten seconds before Katie walked out of her room, pulling a hoodie on over her t-shirt.

"Okay, I'm ready," she said as she flipped her hair over the hood of her sweatshirt. I smiled, doing my best not to flash back to just a few hours ago…that definitely wasn't going to get us to the hospital faster.

"Okay, come on." I grabbed the car keys, and took her hand, and together we walked out of the apartment. I paused just long enough to lock the door behind us, and then we made a mad dash for the stairs, since often times they were quicker than the elevators.

We crashed out of the Palmwoods lobby and into the parking lot. I unlocked the car doors and we leapt into the car; I jammed the specific key into the ignition and started the car up, before slamming the gears into reverse and backing out of the parking spot.

I pulled out onto the main road, and stepped on the accelerator, speeding the car up to thirty-five miles per hour.

"I can't believe Kendall's finally going to be a dad!" Katie squealed. "I can't believe I'm going to be an aunt! Oh God! I'm so hyper, I feel like I'm on a sugar rush."

"I can pull the car over and help you take care of the hyper-ness," I suggested, teasing her lightly.

"You know James, if Jo wasn't in labor, I might actually take you up on your offer."

I licked my lips as I watched her. She was smirking at me, and it was all I could do to really not pull the car over onto the shoulder and conduct a reenactment of the events of three hours ago. "I'm holding you to that," I told her. "Once the baby is born, it's going to be just you, me, and my bed."

"Ooh, I love when you talk dirty," she teased me, being her usual smart-ass-self, but she was biting her bottom lip, and I knew she was seriously tempted by my idea.

There was a pause, and then she cried, "I wonder if Camille said yes to Logan!"

I slammed on the brakes as a red stoplight came into sight. "I haven't even thought of that! Oh man, I hope so!"

"Well, he never came back to the apartment, so she probably did," Katie reasoned.

"Unless she said no, and he took off to go and get drunk or something," I replied as the light turned green. I pressed down on the gas pedal, and we shot through the intersection.

The hospital was just up ahead, and following the signs, I quickly navigated into the parking lot, and pulled into a space. I shut the engine off, but before Katie could get out of the car, I pulled her towards me and kissed her for the trillionth time that night.

When we broke apart, I gently traced her bruised lips with my index finger, and knew my lips couldn't look much better.

We sat like that for a few more seconds, and then I pulled away. "Ready to go in?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

We got out of the car, locked the doors, and hand in hand, we headed into the hospital.

We stopped in the lobby, at the counter. The receptionist looked up at us as we approached her.

"What can I do for you?" she asked politely.

"Could you tell us which room Josephine Taylor is in?" Katie asked, matching the receptionist's tone. "She's in labor," she added.

"Hmmm…" the receptionist turned her attention to her computer, typing something in, and then looked back at us. "Josephine Taylor is in the maternity ward, in room 205, on the third floor."

"Thanks. Come on James!" Katie grabbed my hand again and we dashed off, towards the elevators.

We found room 205 pretty easily, and crashed into the room, causing a bit of a commotion; everyone looked up when we entered.

Jo was lying in the hospital bed, groaning, with sweat pouring down her face. Kendall sat beside her, holding her hand and murmuring to her. Jo's father sat on her other side, holding her other hand, just staring on. Mrs. Knight sat next to Kendall with a hand on his shoulder. Logan and Camille, and Carlos and Stephanie, sat in various chairs scattered throughout the room, all looking tense, yet excited.

"Have we missed anything?" Katie asked breathlessly.

"Just Jo cussing Kendall out during one of the contractions," Stephanie answered brightly.

Kendall stared at us, not looking particularly happy to see us. That might have something to do with what had happened earlier…

"Whoa," Camille commented, "you two smell like…roses. You smell like roses," she quickly corrected herself.

Uh oh. I had no doubt in my mind that Katie and I both smelled like sweat and sex. That wasn't going to help our case with Kendall.

"Relax Camille, I already know what happened earlier. James is terrible at being subtle," Kendall said. "And I'll kill him and Katie later, but not while my wife is in labor."

"It'd be good to wait," Logan agreed. "The double murder of your sister and your best friend might cast a shadow over the birth of your kid."

Camille sighed dreamily. "Isn't he just soooo sexy?"

"Uhhh…" Carlos, Katie, Stephanie, and I all intoned.

"You're totally sexy, babe," Camille told Logan, kissing him on the lips.

"Well, you're even sexier," Logan replied, kissing her back.

"Nah uh, no one's sexier than you!"

"No one's sexier than _you_!"

"No conversation is grosser than this one," Carlos spoke up.

"Ohmigosh, James, Katie, guess what!" Camille gushed out.

"What?" Katie and I asked together, smiling.

"THIS!" and Camille held out her left hand, showcasing a beautiful diamond ring. "Logan proposed to me!"

She must have already told the others, because everyone just smiled and returned to their private conversations that they had been having before Katie and I burst into the room.

"Ohhhh, it's so beautiful!" Katie cried, admiring the ring.

"Stunning," I agreed with a smile.

Camille leaned back, resting her head on Logan's chest.

Kendall's eyes were following Katie and me, watching our every move, and quite honestly, it was driving me nuts.

"Kendall, if you want to kill us, just do it!" I burst out. "This is driving me crazy!"

Kendall got to his feet, and walked over to us, grabbing us by our arms in a vice-like grasp. He yanked us out into the hallway.

"I'm not going to yell. I'm not going to scream. I'm not even going to get mad," he said in a low hiss. "I just want to know that it was a mutual agreement, and that it never actually happened."

Katie stared at him. "That makes no sense."

"He wants us to tell him whether or not you were ready for it, and then for us to let him know that we never had sex," I translated.

"Oh, okay. Yes Kendall, the feelings were mutual, and I was very ready. And nope, it never happened."

Kendall nodded, his face relaxing. "Okay, good. That's nice to know. And yes, I'm perfectly aware that was a blatant lie, but I'm going to pretend what you let slip over the phone and the smell of sex is something else entirely, and that it's all in my head. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and hold my wife's hand while she delivers our child."

And with those words, he pushed back into the hospital room.

Katie and I stared at each other. "That was…bizarre," she finally said, and I laughed.

"Tell me about it," I agreed. "But at least he's not going to kill us." I paused, and then said, "I'm starving. Do you want something to eat?"

"As a matter of fact, I'm famished. Let's go down and grab some food."

* * *

><p><strong>Katie's POV<strong>

James opened the hospital room door to call into the others and let them know that we were going down to the hospital cafeteria, and then we headed off, to the ground floor.

Five minutes later we were settled down at one of the small, square metal tables with cheeseburgers, fries, and milkshakes. I took a sip of my chocolate milkshake, while I watched James look around the room, chuckling to himself slightly.

"Do you remember the last time we were here?" he asked, turning back to flash me a grin.

"When…The last time Carlos broke his arm, a year ago," I said.

"Yeah, when he was skateboarding and decided to try to do a jump off of the Palmwoods roof."

I rolled my eyes. "It's amazing that he didn't get hurt worse than that. That was one of the stupidest things he's ever done, right up there with trying to navigate his bike through the carnival funhouse mirrors."

James cracked up at the memory. "Oh man, we were all trying to get through the mirrors as fast as we could so that he wouldn't run us over."

"That stunt was dangerous for _everyone_ involved."

"Who'd have thought that a year later we would be back at the hospital for Kendall and Jo's kid's birth?" he said, sounding like his thoughts were faraway.

I finished up my cheeseburger and crumpled the foil wrapping into a ball. "It is pretty insane," I agreed. "But, I mean, let's face it – a year ago, who would have thought that we'd be dating, that tonight would have happened? I mean, if someone had told me a year ago what was going on tonight, I'd probably ask them if they'd been brainwashed recently."

James laughed. "Yeah, that probably would have been my reaction too." He paused, and then reached out to take my hand. "Do you regret any of it?"

For me, there had never been an easier question. "No," I said simply. "Not a single minute. I love the craziness, the utter insanity. There's never a dull moment with you, and I love you for it. I mean, there's so many reasons why I love you, but…I wouldn't take back anything."

"Good," he said, and leaned forward to press his lips to mine. "Neither would I."

"You are such a hopeless romantic!" I cried, laughing.

"Something else you love me for?" he asked with a cocky grin.

"As mushy as this is going to sound, yes."

"Going to eat those fries?" Of course, the moments never last for very long. But that's a guy for you – they love food more than almost anything else.

"Go ahead," I said, still laughing as I pushed the fries towards him. He promptly dumped about half a container of salt over them before popping them in his mouth.

I watched as he wolfed down the fries, and when he was done, I touched his leg with the toe of my sneaker. "Wanna head back up to the hospital room, see how Jo's doing?"

"Sure."

We threw our garbage away, and left for the room, where everyone was still sprawled out in the hospital chairs.

The rest of the night was restless. No one got any sleep in the hospital chairs, and even if the chairs had magically turned into feather beds, we still wouldn't have had the time to drift off – Jo's contractions were coming closer and closer together, and she screamed with all her might when they hit her, causing Kendall to shriek like a little boy when she squeezed his hand hard enough to break his fingers.

We all ended up eating breakfast in the cafeteria, and then around noon, lunch. It was nearly one when we all trooped back in and found a nurse examining Jo. "You're nearly fully dilated," she told Jo. "It'll be very soon."

"Hey, the baby's three weeks early," Carlos spoke up, frowning. "Is it normal for her to go into labor so early?"

The nurse smiled. "Depends on the circumstances. But in this case, it's pretty normal."

Well, that was vague.

Logan furrowed his brow. "Kendall…what did you and Jo do tonight? Sexual interaction can induce labor, you know."

That caused us all to spin around to glare at Kendall, who turned bright red. "It was Valentine's Day! And she's my wife!"

"Okay. Eeew," I said. "We did not need conformation on that."

The doctor came in and bustled over to Jo, before Kendall could come up with a retort.

"She's fully dilated," the nurse told the doctor.

"Good. Now Jo, when I say push, you're going to push as hard as you can."

Jo nodded, sweat dripping down her face and beading on her lips.

"Good…on the count of three…one…two…THREE! PUSH!"

It was like watching a train wreck – it was impossible to look away. Jo screamed and strained until she was turning blue, while Kendall and Mr. Taylor both gripped her hands, eyes wide.

"YOU! KENDALL KNIGHT! I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, HAVING SEX WITH ME WITHOUT PROTECTION?"

Oh, wow. That was an embarrassing thing to be shouted in front of an audience.

Kendall laughed awkwardly. "Uh, actually we did use a condom, it just happened to break."

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! I _TOLD_ YOU WE SHOULD WAIT UNTIL I COULD GET MORE PROTECTION!"

Oh, wow. This was better than pay-per-view, truth and dare, and the copy-and-paste game put together.

"Uhhh…I love you too sweetie-pie," Kendall said.

"I can see its head!" the doctor cried.

"WELL, I DAMN WELL HOPE SO!" Jo shrieked at him. "IF MY KID DIDN'T HAVE A HEAD I WOULD SHOOT YOU IN _YOUR_ HEAD!"

Kendall laughed, even more awkwardly than last time. "Pain doesn't really agree with her."

Jo turned to glare at him ferociously, and he shrunk back a little. "OH, YOU THINK SO, KENDALL KNIGHT? WHAT GAVE IT AWAY? ME SCREAMING _BLOODY MURDER_?"

"I'm just going to shut up now," Kendall muttered.

"Come on, Jo, PUSH! PUSH!" the doctor urged her on.

"_YOU_ PUSH! THESE PAIN MEDS YOU GAVE ME? YEAH, THEY'RE SHITTY!"

"Jo, the baby's almost out!" the doctor cried. "Just one more push!"

"I CAN'T!"

"YES YOU CAN!" Kendall assured her, a bit too loudly. "YOU CAN DO IT, JO! I HAVE FAITH IN YOU! I KNOW YOU CAN!"

There was silence except for Jo's wordless screams, Kendall's muffled moans as she squeezed his hand,

and then…There was a baby's cry.

"It's a girl!" the doctor proclaimed to the room.

"It's a girl!" Kendall cried, leaping up onto his chair and punching the air with excitement.

"It's a girl!" Jo sobbed, voice hoarse from screaming, tears streaming down her cheeks with happiness.

"It's a girl!" I screamed and flung myself into James's arms, who picked me up and swung me around, kissing me.

"Ohmigosh!" Camille shrieked, and threw herself so hard at Logan that he collapsed on the floor with her on top of him. She kissed him all over his face, leaving lipstick marks, standing out against his red hot face.

"YES!" Stephanie screeched, and kissed Carlos full on the mouth.

Mom hugged Kendall, then Jo, then me, and finally Mr. Taylor, although the two parents stepped back, looking slightly disturbed by the contact.

While we were all screaming and jumping and kissing and hugging each other with joy, the doctor had been cleaning the baby girl off and swaddling her in a soft, cotton blanket. He handed her to Jo, and the new mommy gently cradled her in her arms, smiling happily down into her daughter's face, before beaming at Kendall.

"We did it, Kendall! We did it!"

"Yes we did," Kendall said, smiling brilliantly as he kissed his wife's forehead, and then his daughter's.

Oh, wow. _His daughter_…that was going to take some getting used to…

I wiped at my eyes as James held me from behind, just as he had at the reception, when Kendall and Jo had been climbing into the car to leave for their honeymoon.

"What're you going to name her?" Stephanie asked, head on Carlos's shoulder.

Kendall and Jo smiled at each other, before Jo answered, "Brianna Katherine Jamie Taylor-Knight."

"Her middle name's my name, and…James's," I observed oh-so brilliantly.

"You two are her namesakes," Kendall said with a grin. "We got to talking, and figured out that if you two hadn't been doing your whole fake-dating scheme, and hadn't somehow dragged us into the entire mess without us even realizing, we never would have gotten things straightened out. It's because of you two that we ended up back in the apartment with everything getting laid out on the table."

"Well, in that case, we're very happy to have helped you out," James said, and I could tell he was grinning back at Kendall.

"So this is our way of thanking you for…well…just being yourselves really, because if you two weren't crazy, we might never have gotten back together, and who knows if I would have even kept Brianna," Jo sniffed out, before cuddling her daughter even closer to her.

Eventually, we were all ushered out so that Jo could sleep, although Kendall insisted on staying with her and Brianna.

We all promised to come back in a few hours, but for now…

"Well, I'm heading off to my fiancé's apartment," Logan announced, arm around Camille.

"And I'm going to crash at Stephanie's…besides, I think I left some stuff there," Carlos added.

We all stared at him.

"Like _what_?" Logan demanded.

"Like my wallet."

"Please tell me you weren't the one who drove here."

"Now would I really let him drive without a license?" Stephanie asked Logan rhetorically, leaning into Carlos.

"I never know with you."

"Well, we're headed back to the apartment," James proclaimed, before glancing down at me. "Unless you had somewhere else to be?"

"Nope, nowhere."

It was such a relief to get back into 2J. For the past fourteen hours, my body had been running straight off of adrenaline, but it was beginning to lose fuel, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I collapsed right where I was standing.

"Come on," James said, taking me by the hand, and leading me into his room. "I want you next to me, and we'll pick up where we left off later."

I yawned as I sat down wearily on his bed. "I still need to text Gabi and Kyle and Scarlett and tell them about the baby. But maybe I'll do that later…"

James tossed me a shirt, and I held it up, looking at him questioningly.

"You looked so beautiful in my shirt earlier – "

I laughed. "You adorable cheese ball, you."

"I'll just pretend that's a compliment."

"It is, in a really weird way," I told him.

"Hey, how's those overworked muscles?" he asked, winking at me.

"Much better now, thanks."

"I'm going to go brush my teeth. I'll back in a minute."

While he was gone, I changed into his t-shirt. It hung on me like a sheet, but somehow, I didn't think James was going to mind.

It was the first time I had had any time to really process everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, but when I finally was able to wrap my mind around everything, I still didn't regret anything. Being with James like that…it was beyond amazing. I shivered with pleasure just thinking about it.

But for the time being, all I wanted to do was curl up next to him with his arms around me, and sleep.

James came out of the bathroom and I took his place, running the toothbrush over my teeth, still thinking. I was now an aunt! Kendall was now a father! My mother was a grandmother! Jo was a mother! Brianna Katherine Jamie Taylor-Knight was the most beautiful baby in the world, and I couldn't help but be completely excited, even in my current zombie state, to visit her later. And I couldn't wait to help plan Logan and Camille's wedding – wow! Logan was getting married! To Camille! Holy crap!

I spat out the mouthful of toothpaste and rinsed twice, before running a brush through my tangled hair, and washing my face.

I walked back to James's room. He was already dressed in sweatpants and nothing else, his usual pajamas, and he was sitting on the edge of the bed, where I had been just a couple of minutes previously.

"Hey," I said, smiling.

"Hey." He smiled back, and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to him so he could kiss me. "You look even better in my shirt when there's actually light in the room."

I laughed. "I hear light does tend to help people see better. It's just a rumor though."

There was a pause and I gently traced the bones of his cheeks, the softness of his lips, with my index finger, thinking about how lucky I was to have him, to be here with him, and knowing whole-heartedly that the feeling was mutual.

"What're you thinking about?" he asked softly, before moving so that he was tenderly sucking on my finger.

"I'm just thinking that…I wouldn't trade this moment for the world, and I wouldn't trade you for the universe."

He smiled, and I pulled my finger out of his mouth so that he could reply. He pulled me down on the bed beside him, gently pushing me down, and then climbing onto the mattress so that he could lie beside me.

We laid there on our sides, facing each other. James traced my cheekbone, my jaw line, and down to my neck, with his finger.

"You know what, Katie? Neither would I. I love you."

"I love you too," I said, and then he kissed me.

I smiled against his lips. Everything was finally the way it was meant to be.

_**THE END**_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Wow...was that the definition of fluff or what? And I don't even usually write fluff, but the entire epilogue is filled to the brim with sweetness and cuteness and romance and a little bit of sex! Wow.<em>**

**_Okay, so how many people vomited from all the sugary-ness of the epilogue? I tried to take out some of the fluff, but it still ended up being...well...like this._**

**_So, I do want to mention the point of the epilogue, and the reason why so much of it seems to be focused on Katie and James consumating their relationship. My reasoning for writing it out like that is because it just seemed like there was too much sexual tension between the two of them throughout the story (completely my fault) and I just had to release some of the tension between them, if that makes any sense. Plus, considering everyone was always joking or complaining about whether or not they were sleeping with each other, it just kind of made sense..._**

**_But anyway, what'd you guys think of the epilogue? Was it okay? Was it great? Was it just...blah?_**

**_I can't believe the story's finally over! I don't think I've ever finished a story as quickly as I wrote this one - just a little over two months! Now I'm proud of myself *smiles happily*._**

**_Thank you to everyone for taking the time to read "Hot Water"! You're all awesome!_**

**_So a lot of people have been asking me for a sequel...and there might be one eventually, because I kind of have an idea for one, so we'll see._**

**_The review button...Yeah, it's sad about the story ending, and it's been pigging out on ice cream and candy bars and stuff, and it really needs a good workout...So would you all be so kind as to help it out? All you have to do is click on it and leave a review. That would make both the review button and me very happy :)_**

**_Peace out,_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


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